


Out Living My Life

by Kavi Leighanna (kleighanna)



Series: Years Universe [3]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Family, Kids, Romance, Weddings, i could go on for days about tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-14
Updated: 2014-04-14
Packaged: 2018-01-19 09:42:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 41,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1464697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kleighanna/pseuds/Kavi%20Leighanna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life always speeds by.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Penelope Garcia – soon-to-be Morgan – was nervous. Her hands were shaking and she was glad she wasn't responsible for her hair or makeup. She wouldn't have had a stead y enough hand to do a good job of it. And JJ had a real skill in accenting the best of her features, the same way she'd done for Emily at her wedding. Emily had somehow managed to handle her hair while keeping an eye on Gabi and watching over AJ on her play mat. It really was a skill because Penelope's usually unruly curls had been straightened and tamed, pinned in an elegant knot at the base of her skull.

"By this point, it's second nature," Emily had said as she deftly pinned the hair back. "It's the easiest way to manage my hair for the two annual political functions Aaron and I are forced to attend."

"Everything okay, Pen?"

Penelope looked up at JJ. "This is really happening, right?"

JJ grinned. "Very real," she replied. "You are less than an hour from walking down the aisle to marry the love of your life."

Penelope took a deep breath. "And he's going to be there, right?"

"Of course he is!" JJ replied. "If he's not, Emily and I have already agreed I get first dibs.

"And come on, Pen. This is really just a formality and we all know it," Emily spoke up. She was in the process of picking up toys and packing them in preparation for their departure in the bridesmaid dress she was wearing for the ceremony. It had been her decision to stand as a bridesmaid instead of a maid of honour because of AJ. Fran had promised to keep the eight-month-old in her pew while Emily stood up with Pen, but Emily had basically taken on the job of keeping her eye on the children in case Gabi got restless two. She was only two and likely to get distracted.

"That doesn't mean he's guaranteed to be there," Penelope replied.

"The way he's head-over-heels for you definitely does," JJ argued.

"He fought for you," Emily pointed out with a roll of her eyes that Penelope caught in the mirror. "Tooth and nail. And before you say anything to the contrary, that's enough. And if you think even for a second Aaron would let him walk away, you're nuts."

"And," JJ jumped in. "Before you bring up obligation, remember Gabi's two. I think he's made it clear he's in it for the long haul."

Penelope sighed. "Still..."

"No still, Pen," JJ said. "Drop this insecurity. You're getting married. Today is a happy day."

"I'm happy," Penelope insisted. "I am."

"But you'll be better when you see him at the end of the aisle," Emily said, the words a statement not a question. Penelope knew she'd felt the same way on her wedding day.

A knock sounded on the door and Emily left her self-imposed task of cleaning up to answer it. Fran bustled in, then stopped dead as she caught sight of Penelope in front of the mirror.

"Sweetheart, you look gorgeous," she breathed.

Penelope blushed. "Thanks Fran."

"Alright," Fran demanded, getting a hold of herself and her mission once again. "Give me the beautiful little Anna-Joy and focus on getting this woman to my son."

Emily shook her head affectionately. "I'm still packing her up, but if you can grab her, I'll pack up her mat."

Fran leaned down, picking up the baby and hoisting her into her arms. "You are so cute. Just like your mama, aren't you?"

Emily chuckled. "Fran, you say that every time you see her."

"And every time I see her she gets even more beautiful. Not quite as beautiful as my own granddaughter of course, but beautiful in her own right," Fran replied.

"Thank you for doing this," Emily said, handing the other woman AJ's bag.

"Of course," Fran replied, snatching Gabi's bag and tossing it over her shoulder. She turned to leave, then turned back as if forgetting something. AJ went to her mother as her eyes darted about the room. "Miss Gabriella!"

Little feet carried Gabi back into the room. "Nana!"

Fran managed to keep her balance as Gabi ran straight into her legs. "You and I need to talk, Miss Gabi," the older woman said, crouching down to the child's level. "You're going to be good for your mama, right?"

"Yup!" Gabi said, twisting her hips and thus, her skirt. Gabi had been excited ever since she'd gone with the four older woman to pick and fit the dress.

"Okay. Look at me, Gabs." Fran waited patiently until her granddaughter met her eyes. "If you don't think you can stand up with Mama and Daddy, you come and sit with me, okay? I'll have all of your toys."

"And duce?"

Fran grinned, pressing kisses all over Gabi's face and making the little girl giggle. "And juice," she replied laughing. "I need to get Annie settled. You remember to be good for your mama."

"Good for Mama," Gabi parroted back.

"That's my girl," Fran said. She made her way back to Penelope's side, leaning down and kissing her cheek. "You look stunning. Derek won't be able to take his eyes off of you."

Penelope blushed and grinned. "Thanks Fran."

"And he is down there pacing, wondering if you're really going to walk down the aisle."

JJ grinned, shooting a knowing look at Penelope. "We told you so."

"I'll send up Hotch," Fran offered.

"Thanks Fran," Penelope whispered.

JJ fished fixing the veil and picked up Penelope's nearby bouquet. The purple orchids matched Emily and JJ's dresses. Emily and JJ's bouquets were white orchids, deliberately contrasting with their own dresses and matching Penelope's.

Hotch poked his head in and knocked. "It's time." His eyes were drawn to Emily first, something that didn't surprise anyone, but they turned swiftly to Penelope as she stood. "Derek is going to believe how beautiful you are."

She blushed. "Thank you, Sir."

"I'm about to walk you down the aisle. I think today of all days is the day to stop calling me 'Sir'," Hotch said with a smile as he held out his arm.

"Right. Thank you Hotch."

"Are you ready?" he asked, looking down at her with a smile.

"So ready," she replied, grinning widely.

Derek tried to stand still, really he did, but he was so anxious. He needed the ceremony to start. He needed to see Penelope. He felt himself relax a little as the music started up and he saw Gabi coming down the aisle, holding onto Jack's hand just like they'd practiced the night before. He smiled at his little girl, encouraging her. Emily came next and if wasn't for how in love she was with Hotch and his own deep feelings for Penelope, it was moments like these he regretted not making a move on her ages ago. Having AJ had only done brilliant things for her body. He winked at her as she met his gaze and he could tell she was resisting the urge to stick her tongue out at him. But the perfect Emily Prentiss prevailed and she took Gabi's hand when she reached the front, in line with their rehearsals.

Then came JJ and Derek felt Reid tense behind him. He grinned at her as she winked at Reid. That made him chuckle. Then the wedding march began and Derek felt his breath catch. Penelope was beyond gorgeous. Her white dress had two thin straps and the skirt was the princess skirt she'd told him she adored. He felt tears well in his eyes against his will power.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to join Derek and Penelope in marriage," the pastor said, facing the gathered guests. "Who gives this woman?"

"I do," Hotch spoke up strongly, and Derek saw the older man squeeze Penelope's hands before he put them in Derek's. Then he took his place beside Reid.

Derek lost track of the ceremony after that, caught up in the sparkle of her eyes and the way the sunlight glinted off of her hair as it floated through the windows. It wasn't until Penelope cleared her that that he realized she was preparing to say her handwritten vows.

"Derek..." To say I love you, that I've loved you forever, is probably an understatement. You've given me so much, helped me through so much... I don't know what I would do without you in my life. And don't you ever, ever think of leaving."

"I don't," he promised, reaching up to wipe carefully at her tears. "I won't."

Penelope sniffled. "I can't wait to start the next part of our lives together. Derek, I know this is just a formality because I love you. I always have. I always will."

Derek had to take a minute before he could speak. "Baby Girl... Penelope, you are the light in my life. It's so cliché, I know that, but you make everything in my life so much brighter. You make my job just that little bit easier to do. And you gave me a beautiful baby girl. I don't know why I waited so long to ask you to marry me. It's the single greatest decision I have ever made in my life. Forever will never be long enough for me to love you. I love you doesn't come close to how I feel about you. And this isn't just a formality, Mama. This is me ensuring that you will always be by my side."

"Always isn't long enough," she whispered through her tears.

It was then that Gabi not only chose to make herself known, but also show the world how much her family meant to her. "Mama cry!" she exclaimed, almost upset as her mother.

Derek and Penelope laughed along with the rest of their guests. Derek knelt as his daughter clung to her mother's skirt. He kissed her forehead gently. "Mama's fine," he promised. He grinned as Emily rushed over to pick Gabi up.

"Cry!" Gabi said, still sounding confused.

Penelope grinned at Gabi, stepping over to pepper her little face with kisses. "I'm fine, Princess. Five more minutes, okay?"

Gabi wrinkled her little forehead for a minute. "Kay."

Derek was still chuckling when Penelope turned back to him and the preacher. "She is your daughter," he said.

She arched an eyebrow. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"She has a big heart and puts everyone else first," Derek responded immediately with a charming grin.

"Good answer," she replied, slipping her hands back into his. "Where were we?"

"Rings," the woman responded promptly.

Then Jack was at Derek's side, holding up the circles of metal. Derek grinned his thanks and turned back to Penelope. He held her left hand. "With this ring, I promise you my everlasting love and unending devotion. I promise you my life, my body, my heart, everything I am and everything I will be."

Penelope blinked, her eyes shining as he slid the ring on her finger to nestle against her engagement ring. Then she folded his hand in hers, sliding the matching ring over his knuckles. "Derek Morgan, with this ring, I promise you my everlasting love and unending devotion. I promise you my life, my body, my heart, everything I am and everything I will be."

He was already stepping towards her as the pastor announced it was now time to kiss the bride. His heart leapt when he touched his mouth to hers, the same way it did every time he kissed her. His thumbs came up to wipe her tears.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mister and Missus Morgan."

They couldn't take their eyes off of each other as they made their way back down the aisle. "We did it," he whispered as the made it to the end of the carpet.

Penelope turned at Gabi's call and scooped her into her arms. Her eyes were glowing. "We did," she agreed. "We're officially married."

"Are you ready for our next adventure?" he asked, looking back at their family and friends.

"And what would that be, Hot Stuff?"

He squeezed her hand. "The rest of our lives."

She pursed her lips. "Let's just start with the reception, okay?"

He could definitely agree with that.


	2. Chapter 2

"You know," Aaron began as his hands rubbed his wife's shoulders. "AJ's eighteen months old."

"I know," Emily agreed, dragging out the end of her words on a moan.

"We should think about which one of us is going to leave the BAU. We can't keep leaving AJ with Fran while we're off travelling," he replied. In reality, he didn't want to talk about this with her. He didn't want to think about either of them leaving the BAU. He couldn't imagine the team without either of them or one of them. The dynamic of the team was well honed. They were comfortable with each other. The thought of screwing with the team dynamics, the well-honed beauty of their team, made his skin crawl.

Emily sighed. "I know," she replied. "I don't know what to do."

"Me either," he replied softly. "Why do we have to leave?"

"Because AJ needs someone here for her. So does anyone else who may come along."

Aaron's hands stopped. "Any one else who comes along? Is there something you're not telling me?"

She rolled over as he fell to the side so they faced each other. "We've never talked about more kids," she said, almost as if she was scared.

"I never thought about it," he admitted. "Jack and Annie... I never thought of another kid."

"Another little you?"

"Or a little you," she replied.

Aaron had to think about it. It wasn't all that long ago, or didn't feel like that long ago, that AJ had started sleeping through the night. He loved his daughter, dearly and with everything in him, but he liked time with his wife too. He had to decide if he wanted to wait. Emily wasn't getting any younger and he knew that if she wanted another child, it would have to be soon.

Her sigh brought him back. "Never mind," she said. "Forget I even mentioned it."

"If you want another child, then we have to talk about this, Emily," he said, reaching out to brush his fingertips over the soft skin of her cheek.

"I don't want to force you into a decision," she replied. "I don't want you to feel pressure because of what I want. I love AJ and I adore Jack and I can be happy with or without another child."

But Aaron knew how rewarding motherhood had been for Emily. There were times he was sure she found it more rewarding than her job. He could see it in the look on her face as she watched AJ and Jack play in the backyard through the kitchen window. It wasn't that he didn't want another child, it was that he felt like he had to choose between breaking up the BAU family and adding to his own. His gut was telling him that if Emily had another child, she would be much more insistent about being more accessible to her children. As much as Aaron admired that about her, he feared drastic change just as much as the rest of the team.

Emily watched the emotions play across her husband's face with trepidation. This conversation had the potential to shatter her heart into a million tiny pieces. It was important to her that he want another child before she told him the possibility of it coming true in about eight months. She'd first noticed it almost two weeks ago when she'd gone into the break room for her morning cup of coffee only to bolt out of the room straight to the bathroom. Once again, Derek was the first to know, worriedly knocking on the bathroom door. Emily had sighed and confided in her best friend that the last time she had emptied her stomach at the smell of coffee had been the early months of her pregnancy with AJ Derek had sat with her while she made an appointment with her doctor. It had been confirmed a few days later and while Emily was elated, she was a little nervous about what Aaron's reaction would be, especially since they hadn't talked about more children.

She found herself holding her breath as his hand stroked her head through her hair. "Emily..."

Her eyes closed. She knew that tone of voice and it didn't bode well for her baby. But there was nothing she was wiling to do to change her baby. Which meant that she had to find some way to make him see that this life inside of her was worth it. "Don't."

"Listen," he pleaded. He cupped her face in his hands. "Emily, do you want another child? Honestly?"

She couldn't stop the tear that leaked out of her eyes and he cursed herself for allowing them to slip. "Aaron, we don't get the choice anymore."

She refused to open her eyes when his hand stopped carding through her hair. "Emily..."

She turned her head away dislodging his hand from her hair as she rolled over. Her hand went to her stomach as she stood. She couldn't stay lying in bed with him knowing that there was the serious possibility that he didn't want the life growing inside of her. She made her way down the hall to her daughter's room, to the same rocking chair she'd gotten with Aaron at AJ's birth. Since AJ's birth, the rocking chair, rocking her daughter sleep, was the only place she could think, the only place she truly felt at ease. It was the place where she could think.

AJ was asleep had been since story time at about 7:30. Emily's hand went to her unborn child. The baby she was carrying was her little girl's brother or sister. She didn't know what she was going to do now. She didn't know. AJ's bed had been converted so it had bars. Emily removed them quickly, just enough that she could crawl in with AJ. The little girl whimpered, but cuddled into her mother as Emily wrapped her arms around AJ' little body. She buried her head in AJ's hair and held on.

Aaron felt like a right idiot.

He'd been too shocked to say anything when Emily implied she was pregnant. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to do. He'd never, in a million years, regret a child. But all of a sudden, to have that child already growing, to know there's a person living that there was a sibling there for Jack and AJ, picturing Emily pregnant again...

But those worries came back to him again. He remembered those torturous weeks away from her with a new aent, even if they were temporary. AJ was worth every minute, there was no doubt about it. And AJ still interrupted the little time he had with his wife.

So he hadn't followed her. Between shock and needing time to absorb the news of his impending fatherhood, there was no way he was moving. Now he had to figure out what to say to Emily. Because now that he'd had time to consider his new child, the rest of it didn't seem to matter anymore. It didn't matter if Emily would want to leave the BAU permanently. It didn't matter that the dynamics of his well-oiled machine would be inreevocably changed. What mattered was his family. What mattered was that right now, Emily thought he didn't want the child growing within her. And now that he'd had time to absorb it, he wanted to make it clear to Emily that this baby was a surprise, yes, but he would never want a child with a woman that continually approved not only to be a gorgeous woman, and an exceptionally competent agent, but a fantastic mother on top of it.

And he knew exactly where she was.

It broke his heart to see Emily curled around AJ. They were adorable like that, almost his entire world curled up under a bright yellow comforter. Aaron sat down on the edge, his hand coming out to brush his hand over her cheek. "Emily, I know you're not asleep."

"I don't want to talk about it," she said stubbornly.

"We have to talk about it, sweetheart," he replied. "I need you to listen to me."

"I don't need to hear you say you don't want this baby. I can't."

"It was a surprise, that's all. I've never really thought about having another baby. Just because it was a shock, doesn't mean I don't want it to exist."

Emily sniffled. "But you don't want it."

"I don't want to have this conversation over Annie's sleeping body, Emily."

It was with reluctance that she uncurled herself from AJ's bed and tucked the blankets back around the year-and-a-half-old girl. They made their way downstairs the room they both considered neutral ground in their home. Aaron turned to her, having led the way downstairs, and took both of her hands.

"I need you to listen, Emily. What I'm going to say is important."

"I'm not six, Aaron."

"No, but you're being stubborn," Aaron replied. "And I know you. You're not always open-minded when you're being stubborn."

She rolled her eyes.

"Emily, I mean it."

She met his eyes. They were pleading with her to listen and she took a deep breath, tamping down her emotions and pulling up the infinite trust she had in him. "I'm listening."

"You can't assume I don't want this baby, honey," he said quickly.

"You didn't sound like you wanted it," she replied, voice extremely soft.

"You didn't give me a chance to absorb the news. I want this baby, if you don't believe anything else, believe that."

The truth was right in his eyes, the brutal honesty bare for her to see. "I believe you," she promised. "But I don't understand."

"I hadn't thought about another baby. Annie's still a baby herself. But still, another little life..." His hand came to rest on her still-flat stomach.

"Why would you make it sound like you didn't want another baby?"

"Because I was being selfish," he said, apology written all over his face. "This means so many things for us."

"What are you thinking?" she asked, squeezing the hand she still held.

"That this makes it even less likely you'll come back to the team after this baby. That we're going to go back to sleepless nights," he replied.

Emily took a deep breath. "One of us will always need to be there. Two young children... They need a parent here full time. It makes sense for me to start in a new position after returning from maternity leave," she replied.

"Or I can be here for them," Aaron proposed. "Emily, let me be here for my kids."

"Being away from AJ is difficult enough," she argued back. "And I'm going to have to come out anyway to give birth."

He sighed and she stepped easily into his outstretched arms. "Can we discuss it later?"

Emily chuckled. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he said, kissing her brow.

"Me too," she replied. She breathed deep allowing his scent to relax her body like it usually did.

"Let's go upstairs," he said, his hand threading through her hair as he cupped the back of his head.

She laughed, but submitted to his kiss. "I'm in the mood for a bath." She took his hand and made it to the bottom of the stairs before he tugged her back.

"Tell me again," he requested.

Her smile was secretive and a little shy. "I'm pregnant."

Aaron's smile stretched across his face as he kissed her.


	3. Chapter 3

JJ arched her back with a cry of pleasure, her entire body going taught. Spencer stilled above her, groaning deep in his chest before collapsing on top of her. JJ grinned as she tried to catch her breath. It had been date night for the Reid household and she'd barely let him get through the door before she was stripping of his clothes and her own.

It had been years since she and Spencer had last debated ending anything that had to do with a romantic relationship between them and a lot had changed. It had taken her some time and some support, but JJ had learned not to run away. She had learned that Spencer was ready to sit and listen to the things that bothered her with an open mind and though it had taken them a few times before they could honestly talk without it turning into a yelling match, things had shifted.

They had started with dating. JJ had moved out of Spencer's apartment and they'd spent about a year reacquainting themselves with the dating process and building the trust in their relationship. At first, it had felt odd. After all, they were still legally married. But it was something they tried to forget about for the time being. She'd moved back in with him after that year and numerous conversations around the topic.

That wasn't to say things were perfect. Both of them still avoided many topics, including any conversation about children. It had never come up again, it had never had reason to come up again. JJ groaned as he rolled off of her, a groan that turned into a gasp as she realized something epically important. A few months prior she'd been feeling off and her doctor had promised to get her a new prescription for birth control. However, between the craziness of cases and Aunty Jenny duties, she hadn't been able to fill it at all. Which meant she hadn't been on birth control since her last doctor's appointment.

"Spence?" She knew her voice was shaking. Children was a taboo topic between them, no matter how many times they'd babysat their nieces and nephews. Even if he admitted that children weren't always scared of him – evidenced by the way the BAU family children absolutely adored their Uncle Spencer – JJ was well aware schizophrenia was still at the forefront of his mind. He tested himself every day in every way he could to ensure that he was the same as he had been the day before. So far, he'd been able to pass his own tests with flying colours.

"Mmhmm?" Spencer hummed into her neck, pulling her over his body.

She settled herself in, resting her ear over his heart, trying to prepare herself for the topic she was about to bring up. "I'm not on birth control."

His body tensed beneath her. "What?"

She sighed, pushing herself up and climbing out of bed. She slid on his button up shirt and sat on the edge of the mattress again. "My doctor changed my prescription because I wasn't feeling well a few months back?"

She knew he remembered by the way his eyes widened. "And you don't have one?"

"I haven't had a chance to fill it. It's been a while since I've had thirty seconds, let alone enough time to get to the pharmacy and back. And we've been using condoms so I didn't think much of it."

She saw the moment he understood as if it was happening in slow motion. He shot up from his reclining position, his hands coming to his knees as they curled towards him. "We didn't use a condom."

JJ shook her head slowly, dread rising within her. So she broke into the one terrible habit she had picked up from him. "I promise I didn't mean for it to happen, I wasn't even thinking about it, really. I mean, we'd been flirting all night and when we got home there was nothing else I could think of so I didn't even stop to really think about the ramifications of what we were doing and didn't even think about a condom because it had never been a problem before and we've always remembered, but you have to believe that I didn't do this on purpose. I wouldn't do it on purpose, I couldn't do it on purpose-"

"Jenn." His hand came up to cover her mouth and she snapped it shut, almost biting his palm in the process. "You wouldn't forget on purpose."

She blew out a breath. Her belief in his trust in her was still fragile to say the least, even after six years. They'd been through too much for her to simply take it for granted, but it was certainly a relief to know that he didn't see this as an attempt to get pregnant on her part. "I doubt this is going to have any sort of consequences," she whispered quietly.

"What if it does?"

She'd given him an out, a way to simply end the conversation they were having and move on. She wasn't sure how to feel about him choosing to have the conversation. "I don't know," she replied whispering. "You know how I feel about kids. I know how you feel about kids. We've agreed to disagree."

"Hand me my boxers?"

She handed them to him slowly, avoiding looking at him as he slid them on. Then he stood, holding out his hands. "Come on, Jenn. This isn't a conversation we should have in bed."

She prepared herself for their first epic fight in a while as they crossed the short distance between the bedroom and the living room. He led her to the couch and she followed him down on it, her hands still wrapped in his.

"Do you trust me?"

She nodded. That was an easy question.

"Do you trust that I trust you?"

"More or less," she replied, terrifyingly honest. It was probably the biggest promise she'd ever made to him. She would no longer hide, no longer run. Honesty was the name of the game and she hadn't lied to him during a serious conversation. She was surprised when he took a deep breath.

"Kids will always be a scary topic for me," he began, his thumbs stroking across the back of her hands. "I'll never be comfortable with them, even if evidence says they're not all afraid of me."

"Your child won't be afraid of you," she said softly. "Your child will love, adore and idol you."

He smiled, but didn't reply, just continued on his path. "There's so much at stake with me in bringing a child into the world. And I know it has everything to do with my parents, and everything to do with our history. And I know that we've spent six years trying to forget, bury or deal with that history, but it doesn't always go away."

"I would never ever leave a child behind, Spence. If you don't believe anything else I say, believe that," she said quietly, eyes honest. Leaving a child behind was like the most ultimate sin in her life. She hated Spencer's father for walking out on his twelve-year-old son and leaving him to deal with his schizophrenic mother. A parent just didn't do that to their own child.

"Most of me believes you," he promised. "But would you take a child away from a schizophrenic?"

She'd prepared herself for this conversation and this particular subtopic for years and yet her gut was telling her that there was nothing she could say that would change the way he felt about the disease. "I couldn't walk out on you when you needed me the most."

That much he truly believed. Henkle had bound them tighter than blood and it had been JJ that had gone against his request when his mother had passed away. In fact, she'd applied for leave for both of them far beyond what he'd originally taken so they could bury his mother and deal with her things at the Sanitarium. She'd held him tight when the nightmares plagued him after her death, stuck close to his side when things felt like they were getting bleak again. Since running out of that Washington hospital six years ago, she had been by his side through every rough patch he'd been through. And he'd done his best to do it for her.

He squeezed her hands. "I'm scared, Jenn."

She cocked her head to the side. "Of what?"

"Our own child. I'm afraid of my own mind and I'm afraid of what kind of damage I could inflict on our child without knowing it," he whispered.

He knew she had already gathered that, but admitting it was a completely different step. She pulled her hands out of his to cup his face. "Our child will never be alone, Spencer," she began quietly. "Even if I'm wrapped up with you because you miraculously had that schizophrenic gene that kicked in, our child will never ever be alone. We will never be alone."

He had to admit he'd never considered that. She was completely right, however. There was no way the team would ever let them battle something out in the confines of their own little immediate family. On the contrary, they'd poke their nose in whenever they could, and already had over the years. He wasn't sure what he'd do without Penelope Garcia-Morgan and he knew JJ would be hard-pressed to say she'd be sane without Emily. Their family was just like that.

"I'm willing to talk about it," he said finally, his hands coming up to grasp her wrists, pressing a kiss in her palm. "If you'd like."

JJ shifted closer to him. "I don't want you to do this because you think it's what I want, Spence," she replied, eyes searching his. "I want you to make sure this is what you want."

"We'll do research," he told her. "Check with doctors, therapists, whoever we need to. I'll see if there's a test I can do to see if I have the schizophrenic gene and see if there's a chance I could pass it on to a child. I think our relationship is strong enough to start talking about our own kid."

Her smile lit up her entire face in that way he absolutely adored. There was nothing he loved more than that smile. "You're completely positive?"

He took a deep breath. "I wouldn't say it if I wasn't sure."

Something settled in his stomach then, something he hadn't even realized he was uncomfortable with. He'd never considered that children was something that stood between him and JJ. But it didn't really matter now. They had time and they had a plan. Talking about it, researching it, double and triple checking to make sure that everything was going to be okay with their baby... He could do that. And he trusted now, more than ever, that no matter what happened, they'd always have a family. Their son or daughter would never be alone and for the first time since his father had walked out on him, Spencer found that he was sure he would never be alone either.


	4. Chapter 4

Emily heard the front door open and the thud of what could only be Aaron's travel bag hitting the floor of the front hallway. The BAU had been called out on a case within a week of little Katherine "Kate" Hotchner's birth, so it had only been Aaron who made the trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the case. Emily had received no details at the time and it had been more than difficult to get the information out of her husband when they'd talked on the phone and Emily had absolutely detested the way his voice grew more and more despondent the longer the case dragged on. Eventually, she'd pulled the information out of Penelope and prepared accordingly.

Once she was reassured Penelope would tell her exactly when they were set to take off and land, Emily did a rare thing and called Haley, explaining the situation to the ex-Mrs. Hotchner carefully. Haley had agreed to let Jack spend a few special and surprise days with his father and Emily had picked him up from Haley's that afternoon, Kate and AJ in the back seat. Jack was now upstairs in his bedroom, and Emily had deliberately and carefully placed his nightlight so Aaron would see it when he walked down the hall.

She quietly climbed the stairs beside him, watching as he pushed open Jack's door a slight look of surprise on his face as he took in his still-little boy. Jack was growing up, there was no doubt about that. He was now almost ten and yet, he had an extremely soothing effect on his father. Emily leaned against the wall, mentally counting to a thousand. On cue, Aaron emerged and headed into AJ's room. There was nothing like watching his children sleep to sooth over the rough edges of a case gone bad. This time, she watched from the doorway as he pulled her purple comforter closer around her, avoiding the bar on the bed with skill and practice. He tucked her puppy in close and kissed her temple, sliding his hand over her hair.

Then came the stop that she knew was most important in this case. Kate was nowhere close to sleeping the whole night – in fact, by Emily's calculations, it was going to be feeding time soon – so Emily didn't bother to worry that he'd wake the infant up. Plus, this was so much more important. She was more than willing to let him do what he needed to do to be able to sleep tonight. She smiled as she watched her husband pick up their new infant daughter just as she started to fuss. He shushed her quietly, rocking her back and forth in his arms. She didn't move until Kate let out a cry.

"If you let me feed her you can burp her and put her back to sleep," Emily said quietly, interrupting and stepping further into the room.

She knew he was reluctant to hand over the infant, but the squall that came out of Kate's mouth had him smiling and giving her to Emily. She made her way to the same rocking chair she'd nursed AJ in and settled down. Aaron knelt in front of her, one hand on her thigh, the other running over Kate's dewy hair.

"It was a bad one," he said quietly.

"I know," she replied, just as quiet, watching him watch her nurse their daughter.

"You called Garcia."

Her gentle shrug was unapologetic. "I had to know what was coming home to me and the kids."

He nodded, his eyes still on Kate. "When did you pick up Jack?"

"This afternoon. I told Haley you needed him."

"You called Haley?"

Emily nodded, well aware that it meant a lot to him. Haley and Emily didn't interact mostly because neither was exactly on even footing with the other. But it didn't matter. She'd do anything to make sure her Aaron was okay and if that meant reaching out to his ex-wife, she was prepared to do it. His hand left their daughter's head to stroke down her cheek. "You're fantastic."

She just smiled, continuing to nurse her daughter until she seemed full. She then willingly handed the infant over to her father and stayed sitting as Aaron paced around the room with the new addition to their family. He looked odd still dressed in his full suit, but socked feet as he walked back and forth with an infant on his shoulder. She stood to get the burp rag before Emily was forced to take yet another suit to the dry cleaners. There had been many of these types of errors during AJ's nursing years. She kissed his cheek before leaving the room. He'd make sure Kate was asleep, then he'd come to bed. She knew the routine.

True enough, forty-five later – he'd obviously taken some more time to just watch her sleep – he stepped into their bedroom and closed the door half way behind him. The baby monitor went on his bedside table before he went about preparing himself for bed but instead of going to his side, he sat down on hers. She looked at him through bleary eyes, having been dozing while she waited for him.

"There were seven of them, Emily," he began quietly. "She took seven kids and she killed them."

Emily knew the parameters of the case, but she wanted to hear it from him. She wanted him to talk through it. So she reached out instead, rubbing her hand over his back where she could reach.

"Someone caught her on this last one. He was sixteen months old and she'd been feeding him cocaine for almost a week," he said. "She waited until she realized he was dying in front of her before she even considered taking him to the hospital. And the only reason she did that was because a neighbour had knocked on the door at just the moment he was going into seizures. She called 911."

Emily wasn't sure if she was supposed to say something or what to say if that was what she was supposed to do. She wasn't prepared for this. The case broke her heart as much as it broke his. "Your kids are still here, Aaron," she told him softly.

He sighed and stood, walking around the bed and crawling in. Emily didn't move, just closed her eyes and waited. There were some bad cases where he couldn't hold her, as if the darkness he was feeling would creep through his skin into hers. It took him a few minutes before he eventually rolled over and gathered her against him. She relaxed completely.

"What if I can't keep them safe?" he whispered against her hair. "What if I can't protect them?"

"You're a fantastic father, Aaron. That's protection enough."

"The parents of these kids were good parents too, Emily. And they couldn't protect their children."

She turned in his arms, kissing his chin softly. "No parent is completely perfect, Aaron. But you are a great father and you have great children. Jack is a brilliant little boy, he knows how to avoid dangerous situations. And AJ knows better than to talk to strangers or to go too far away from the people she knows. You'll teach Kate the same thing. It's the best we can do."

With a sigh, he pulled her closer and kissed her hair, but Emily had the feeling his demons hadn't even been beaten back, let alone defeated. It was going to be a long couple of days, but Emily was still on maternity leave. She had another week before she had to head back into the BAU and she had a couple of ideas of how she, her husband and the three children sleeping down the hall could pass the time. And then maybe things would be okay. They had to be okay.


	5. Chapter 5

JJ looked down at the little bundle in her arms, the little pink had perched on her head. Their daughter. Twenty-six hours of labour had resulted in the stubborn first born of Jennifer and Spencer Reid. JJ was thankful for both Emily and Penelope who had been her sanity through it all. The three girls between the two months meant they were well-versed in the events involved in childbirth. Emily had even brought five-month-old Kate with her. But now, Calleigh Diana Reid was sleeping peacefully in her exhausted mother's arms. JJ's eyes were closed, but she heard the squeak of the door brought her attention to a visitor. The gasp made her open her eyes with a gentle smile.

"Hey," she greeted her husband softly.

One of Spencer's fingers brushed over his daughter's cheek. He was in shock, JJ knew, the same haze he'd lived in for the last nine months. "Look at what you did, Jenn," he whispered.

JJ smiled. "Look at what we did," she corrected. "Do you want to hold her?"

"Jenn, I..."

"You've been practicing this for months, Spence," she said softly. "Hold your daughter. You won't break her."

He was more than reluctant as he lifted the tiny body into his arms. He looked down at her tiny face, brushing his fingers against her nose. "JJ... she's..."

But JJ didn't answer, didn't finish his sentence like she usually did. With her daughter safely in Spencer's arms, she'd drifted up to sleep. So Spencer moved backwards into a nearby comfortable chair. His eyes still fixed on his new baby girl.

"What do you think, Calleigh?"

JJ kept her eyes resolutely closed as she heard her husband talking to their newborn daughter. Her nap made her feel much stronger and the way he was talking to his daughter made her heart flutter and her stomach heat.

"You're going to be good for your Mom and I aren't you?" Spencer was saying softly. "I know you are. And I'm going to do my very best to be the best Daddy for you."

JJ smiled. He was going to be a great father to their little girl.

"I'm going to do my best to be there through every second of your life. First steps, first words, first day of school... all the way through. But there are things that I may not be able to do. See, your Daddy may get really sick. And it doesn't mean I don't love you and it doesn't mean I don't love your Mommy any less, but I could get really sick. And I may have to go away."

JJ had to force herself not to sniffle.

"I don't know what to do with you," he told his hours-old daughter quietly. "I've never been good with kids, your cousins can testify to that, but they've been trying to help me get ready for you. But they're not my responsibility. You are. I have to take care of you, protect you, teach you everything I know. Which is a lot."

The new mother bit her cheeks against the laughter that bubbled up in her chest.

"I think you're going to be smarter than me. I think you're going to be smarter than everyone you know. I bet you're going to have your Daddy's brain and your Mommy's smile. You're going to be beautiful like your Mommy, I can tell. And I'm going to need your Uncle Derek's help when you get older to make sure no one hurts you and breaks your heart. Because you deserve everything we can give you."

JJ rolled over quietly, her eyes lighting on father and daughter. Spencer was cradling the small body to his chest, looking down at the bundle of blankets with adoration and wonder on his face. She smiled.

"I will always love you, Calleigh Di. You and your mother. You're my girls. Sometimes I wonder if I tell your mother that enough. We went through some rough years until you came along, sweetheart. I fought with her on everything and she ran away almost every time. We've both made some mistakes. I told her I never wanted kids, but if I'd known it was going to be you... I love all ten fingers and little toes of yours."

"You're going to be a great father, Spence," JJ finally spoke up, unable to hold it in anymore.

Spencer's head came up with surprise and he met her sleepy smile with one of his own. He stood carefully, making his way to her bedside. "Here."

"You don't want to hold onto her?" she asked, even as she accepted the weight of her daughter. "Have a good talk with her?"

"We talked about all sorts of things," Spencer replied his hand coming to rest on Calleigh's head. "We talked about her crazy aunts and uncles and her cousins that all want to meet her. And we talked about her future."

"Oh, so you told her all about our plans to send her to Oxford?"

She laughed when Spencer wrinkled his nose. She hoped her daughter had every opportunity in the world, but she wasn't sure she was going to be comfortable sending her daughter across an entire ocean.

"I figured MIT," he murmured in reply.

"Of course you did," JJ replied, grinning down at her daughter. The little girl was awake now, moving her arms and legs, letting out a little cry. JJ shifted, to see if Calleigh was hungry. "And she agreed."

"Of course she did," Spencer answered, watching. "She trusts her dad."

JJ smiled widely, her eyes tearing again. "You realize you just called yourself her dad?"

Spencer turned red.

"It's the first time I've ever heard you actually say it," she said with a smile.

"I am her father," Spencer replied.

"No," JJ answered, removing one of her hands from her daughter to cup his cheek. She pulled him closer, kissing him. "You're her daddy."


	6. Chapter 6

Emily slid unnoticed into the lack of Aaron's classroom. She'd come to surprise everyone – mainly her husband – bringing two-year-old AJ and five-week-old Kate with her. She'd left both girls in the more than capable hands of their doting aunts. Meanwhile, she took the opportunity to watch Hotch teach. He'd been doing it more and more often and Emily knew he'd been considering the change to only teaching since Kate had been born. She smiled as she observed him leaning against the desk, fielding any question the students had for a shining member of the BAU.

"Have you ever been shot at?"

Emily eyed the young woman that had asked the question, she was leaning forward, eyes fixed on Aaron who actually had a slight upward tilt to his mouth. She couldn't help the contented smile that floated over her face.

"Every agent gets shot at," Aaron answered calmly. "It's one of the perils of the job."

"You caught the Mill Creek Killer right?" another girl piped up, this one right beside the first. "And the Highway-99 Killer?"

Emily winced. They didn't like talking about their cases, especially considering the admiring tone of the students. She took a moment to look around at the class. Admiration radiated from the large majority of the students around her. That itself was really not a surprise. Aaron was famous for the work he'd done in the Bureau and as one of the star founding members of the BAU. This time, however, it did bother her.

She'd been struggling after Kate's birth. Unlike with AJ, it was taking her longer to get her figure back, not to mention that her hormones were still haywire. Aaron had tried everything he could think of, she knew that and appreciated it. It was sweet, but it hadn't helped.

These girls were young, confident and while Emily wasn't insecure enough to think her husband would ever consider actually cheating, it still brought many of her insecurities to the fore. It wasn't rational and she knew that, and as a general rule, she wasn't that kind of woman. She wasn't insecure in the relationship she shared with her husband, most especially with Kate's birth. Children meant the world to him. His children meant the world to him and she even knew she meant the world to him. Her insecurities weren't rational, but they were still there.

"If you'd like to leave, the class is dismissed." Aaron's voice floated back into her thoughts. There was a flurry of movement as the students packed their bags and gathered their things. Some students left, some flocked to Aaron's side, firing questions at him.

Emily took her time in standing, knowing he wasn't in a hurry. She forced herself to stay calm, to remind herself that she was being insecure and he was being a teacher. Aaron was not attracted to these cadets and would never be. It wasn't his fault that she was irritated at the obvious adoration the students were exhibiting. She wandered up the aisle, part of her indeed reveling at how at ease and less tense he looked as a professor.

As she stepped closer, she heard it:

"He's hotter, Agent Rossi," Emily heard one girl murmur to another and she actually snorted in amusement.

The sound drew Aaron's attention and the way his eyes lit up made her feel a lot better about her insecurities.

"Hi, sweetheart."

She felt herself blush at how open he was being with their marriage. It wasn't a secret, but they were so used to keeping their relationship low-key on the job that it made her blush.

"This is a nice surprise."

She smiled, taking his outstretched hand as he pulled her through the crowd of students.

"Cadets, this is Special Agent Prentiss," Aaron introduced as he wrapped his hand around her waist. "She's one of the shining members of the BAU."

And suddenly, she was answering questions as much as he was, though his hand never left where it settled on her hip. His thumb rubbed circles over her pants. It was a very comforting gesture. Finally, when the last student left, Aaron turned to Emily, leaning down to press a 'hello' kiss to her mouth. A real 'hello' kiss.

"What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd bring the girls in to see where Mommy and Daddy work," she replied. He was in an extremely good mood. She could feel it in how relaxed he felt against her.

"You brought the girls?" he asked in excitement.

"They're spending time with Aunt JJ and Aunt Penelope," she answered, her hands rubbing gently over his shoulders.

"Then we have time?"

Emily's eyebrow went up playfully. When he was this happy, his mood was infectious. So much so that by this point, between his touch and his mood, her insecurities had been shoved aside, at least momentarily. "Depends on what you have in mind."

"They have an office for me," he confided. "Which means I'm just waiting on the transfer papers to go through and I'm no longer a BAU agent."

Her eyes teared up. It was a bittersweet moment. She was glad there was going to be someone there for their children, but she was going to miss seeing him every day. She was going to miss seeing him on cases. This was a good change, she knew that, but it didn't mean she wasn't upset with the sacrificing it was going to entail.

"Sweetheart?"

She put on a smile. She didn't have to repeat that to him. They'd debated this long and hard, even though she'd known the minute he came home to his children from the case just after Kate was born that there was no argument she could make that would change his mind.

Aaron's smile was soft and understand, then his eyes narrowed. "Then tell me, Mrs Hotchner, what was so amusing earlier."

Her smile turned real with a hint of wickedness. It was hard to believe he didn't love her or want her when he was looking at her with such warmth, when his hands held her so securely. She leaned up, brushing her lips against his ear.

"Your students think you're hot, Agent Hotchner," she whispered. Then she pulled back. "Hotter than Agent Rossi.

Aaron kissed her forehead, her temple, her cheek and her nose, pausing not far from her lips. "I don't care if my students think I'm hot," he whispered against her lips. "I care if my wife does."

Then he kissed her.


	7. Chapter 7

"There's no other flights?"

The attendant looked at him sadly. "I'm afraid not, sir. Everything's been cancelled into Washington. It's too dangerous."

Aaron Hotchner sighed, the corner of his eye catching his wedding ring. God, this pissed him off. Emily would be upset too. They didn't always do well when they were apart. Thank God the front desk of his hotel owed him a favour for dealing with a few customer issues without things getting out of hand. He'd thought for sure the wife was going for her steak knife.

He'd been in LA for a guest lecture, that was all. Guest lecture a law class, do a round-table discussion and a private Q & A with some of the students. He wasn't originally going to go home until tomorrow, unsure of when tonight's meet-and-greet-slash- Q & A was supposed to end, but when it had ended early, he'd moved up his flight. Until, as he'd just discovered, they'd all been cancelled. Bad weather in Washington, they said, terrible snowstorms that made it dangerous to fly.

All he wanted to do was go home.

Instead, he pulled out his phone, hitting the speed dial.

"Tell me you're on solid ground."

His mouth quirked upwards. "Hello to you too."

"Aaron, I'm serious. Where are you?"

He sighed. "LA." He'd already called her to say he'd managed to find a flight that would get him home that night.

She let out a relieved sigh. "Thank God. The storm here is brutal. It's knocked out power to most of the city."

"Is everyone okay?"

"Mmhmm. We did the phone and text tree to make sure everyone was fine. All of the kids are home safe and sound and were before the storm got bad. Even Jack."

They'd gone to a fair with his parents, Aaron remembered. "I'm glad."

"Me too. They cut it close." There was a pause. "You can't get out tonight, can you?"

"No," he replied. "They say the storms are too rough to chance flying in. All flights into Washington have been cancelled."

"I checked online, they said the same thing," she agreed. "I'm glad you're not in the air, but I wish you were home."

God, she sounded so vulnerable. "Everything okay?"

"Fine," she replied, though he could hear the tears in her eyes. "I miss you."

"I know," he commiserated. "I miss you too, sweetheart. Are you sure there's nothing bothering you?" Emily wasn't emotional by nature, and if he was right, her period should have been two weeks ago. This over emotional nature wasn't like her unless something dire had happened. "I'm on the next plane out."

She sniffled. "Just let me know when you're going to land."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

He had called, and Emily hadn't picked up. When he called Dave, his mentor mentioned Emily having to be called in, but thought for sure she'd already have been home. Aaron sighed. He'd been looking forward to having his family pick him up at the airport, and part of him worried. It wasn't like Emily not to let him know when she had to cancel something. He ended up in a cab.

The house was quiet when he walked in. "Emily? Jack?"

He heard the pitter patter of little feet and his mouth widened. He knew those feet and sure enough, AJ came racing around the corner.

"Shhh Daddy! You gotta be quiet!" she scolded even as she scampered towards him.

He scooped her into his arms, giving her hugs and kisses before looking at her quizzically. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Mommy and Katie are sleeping," the four-year-old informed him.

Emily sleeping? In the middle of the day? "Is everything okay?"

"Mommy's been sick," AJ reported. "She throwed up in'a bathroom."

His brow wrinkled. He hadn't noticed anything wrong with her before he'd left for LA. Emily was sick and she was sleeping… "How long has Mommy been sick?"

"I dunno," AJ replied with a shrug of her little shoulders. "She's gonna be okay, right?"

"She's Mommy," he replied, tickling her stomach. "Of course she's going to be okay."

He carried his daughter back into the living room where, sure enough, Emily was sleeping, Kate curled up against her chest. This was what he'd missed. This was what he'd wanted to come home to the previous night. He put AJ down before crouching down beside his wife and daughter. "Emily."

Her eyes fluttered as his hand brushed over her hair. "Aaron?"

"Hey."

"You're home!" she said, grasping the t-shirt he'd travelled in.

"In one piece," he agreed, leaning in to kiss her hello.

"I have something for you," she said nervously as she pulled away. With a couple of deft shifts only their parenthood could make possible, Aaron was carrying Kate upstairs while Emily followed behind. AJ had gotten absorbed back into the movie they'd been watching and would be safe while he said a proper not-child-friendly hello to his wife. But as he walked into their bedroom, he noticed that Emily seemed out of sorts.

"What is it, Emily?"

She simply held out a small, wrapped package.

He noticed her hands shaking as he took it, pulling off the bow and lifting the top of the box. Inside was a pregnancy test. A positive pregnancy test.

"A baby!"

She sniffled. "I wanted to tell you on the phone, and then I got all emotional…"

The sleeping, the throwing up, the emotions… Pregnancy symptoms. He should have known. She'd had the same ones with both AJ and Kate. "A baby."

A smile stretched across her face at his awe. "A baby. Another baby."

He allowed himself to uncharacteristically plop beside her on the bed. "Another baby." He reached out and took her hand. "Another little you."

She chuckled slightly, wiping her tears. Both of their daughters had turned out more like Emily in looks than they had taken genetics from their father. "I can't help it if my genes are the dominant ones."

"Emily, I don't really care whose genes are dominant. We're having another baby."

And suddenly he didn't mind the delay, didn't care that he'd been held up literally across the country because they were going to have another child. He was going to have another son or daughter to love, to cuddle, to tell stories to. There couldn't be anything better to come home to than his family.


	8. Chapter 8

After two girls, Emily's third pregnancy, for all intents and purposes, had been a snap. She knew she was getting older, knew that her chances of carrying her third child to term were slimming and, according to Aaron, she'd been much more agreeable. What it came down to, however, was that Emily knew this was her most dangerous pregnancy to date. She hadn't been surprised when her doctor suggested full bed rest. She hadn't acquiesced completely, but she had immediately gone on desk duty and off rotation for away cases. She worked from Quantico as soon as her fifth month came around.

And it had all fallen apart with only a few misplaced words.

The case had been in West Virginia, within driving distance to Washington, though the drive was a long one. Penelope had been listening into the feed while the team went in for the takedown, something Penelope had started doing once Gabi was born. She often said it was stressful, but worth it to know that her Derek was okay. Emily pushed open Penelope's door absently.

"Pen, I-"

Then the shot had rung out and Emily froze. She knew the protocol and tried to breathe as the team counted off.

"Morgan."

"Rossi."

"Reid."

"Lewis."

She wanted to swear, wanted to scream. He shouldn't even have gone on the case. She knew he'd been missing the field, so when he'd heard that they were down an agent, he jumped at the chance to exercise his profiling muscles again. Emily hadn't made a big deal. After all, he was close, and if something happened, he'd be able to be home within an hour, especially if they called in the jet.

"Anyone got eyes on Hotch?" Dave's voice floated over the wire.

"Negative," Derek replied. "We split up to go down the hall."

"Hotch? Answer me, Hotch."

Emily closed her eyes as her breathing sped up and she felt lightheaded. She counted slowly, trying to stay calm. Stress would send her into premature labour again and while she knew that her baby would be able to survive in the real world by this point, she'd been hoping with everything in her that by doing as little as possible, sitting as often as possible and keeping any and all movement to virtually nothing, she'd be able to hold off labour until she was at least 38 weeks along.

"Hotch?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine."

That was when the first contraction hit at the same time a warm, wet liquid trickled down her thighs. The file fell to the floor and Penelope spun in her chair to face Emily as she gasped.

"Em? Em?"

"No. No, no, no, no, no."

"Em, he's fine. You heard him, Hotch is fine."

Emily rubbed her hand over her stomach, meeting Penelope's eyes fearfully. "But I'm not."

Aaron sighed as he dialed Emily's cell phone for the twelfth time. It went to voicemail. He wrinkled his brow as he pulled his phone away from his ear and tried her desk phone, then their home phone. There had been days where she'd simply gone home early to rest and watch General Hospital. But there was no answer at any of those points.

"Hotch, everything okay?"

Dave was driving, Aaron in the passenger seat with Derek riding in the back. So he looked up at the man that had been his mentor. "Emily's not answering."

"Try her desk?"

"I did," Aaron replied.

"Home?"

"Not there either," he answered, looking down at his phone. Then the phone started shaking in his lap. It was a number he didn't recognize, but he picked it up. "Hotchner."

"Aaron Hotchner, you son of a bitch, you are never going out into the field again, do you hear me? Never again!"

"Emily? Sweetheart, I'm fine. The shot was mine."

"I don't care who took the shot I care about the fact that you forgot your pregnant wife and the fact that she's supposed to be keeping her stress low, you bastard! If our son comes out with defects, I am going to have your hide, do you hear me?"

He winced, only a small part of his brain registering Dave doing the same thing. Apparently they could hear Emily through the phone. Then the phone crackled and he heard a gentle voice tell Emily to give the phone to Penelope.

"Sir?"

"Garcia, is she okay?"

"Oh, sir, she's in labour. Her water broke in my office."

Aaron closed his eyes. "She wasn't supposed to be there."

"She had a question, it was a fluke. She came in just as the shot was fired," Penelope said. "Just... do me a favour and get here? She's... heh, this is worse than when she had AJ."

Aaron winced. That had been a painful experience. She'd elected for natural birth. Needless to say her labour with Kate involved an epidural. Emily didn't do well with pain. "I'll do my best, Garcia."

"Sir? I don't say this lightly and I do it with the utmost respect-"

"I'm not your boss, Garcia. I haven't been for almost two years."

"Good. Then I don't feel so bad telling you that if you don't get your ass to this hospital before your son is born, what Emily is planning to do to you will be nothing compared to what I will put you through."

Aaron closed his eyes. She sounded so cheerful. A cheerful Penelope Garcia-Morgan never boded well for anyone involved. "I'll be there in an hour."

"You do that, sir. I'll see what I can do to keep her calm."

"Thanks, Garcia."

He'd never run through hospital halls before. He'd walked quickly, he'd helped Emily slowly around the halls, but never had he raced through the halls like he was now. He was moving so quickly, he actually skidded to a halt in front of her door. "Emily."

"I am going to wring your neck, Aaron Hotchner."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, baby."

"I don't damned well care how sorry you are! I'm in labour and it's all your fault."

"I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone on that case." He knew better than to argue with her now. She'd agreed that it would be good for him to get out in the field again, if only to stop him from being so antsy. As much as he loved spending the time with his children and being there for them whenever he was needed, they both knew he missed the field. And the case wasn't supposed to be anything strenuous. Heck, it was almost routine, as routine as a case could be at the BAU level.

"He's not ready, Aaron," Emily said, tears coming to her eyes. "He's not supposed to be here for another month."

"The doctors said he could be born as early as 30 weeks and be fine, sweetheart," Aaron tried to reassure her, briefly nodding at Penelope as she left the room.

"He's not big enough," Emily said frantically. "He's not heavy enough. You know that he's supposed to spend the next four weeks getting bigger so he can survive."

"But he's almost completely developed, Em. The hospital can take care of the rest, you know that."

She groaned through another contraction, gripping his hand tightly. "Good Lord." Then her head shot up again. "What about the girls? Aaron, what about Katie and Annie?"

"I called your father on the plane, he's picking them up. They're on their way," Aaron reassured. "And Dave went home to get the hospital bags. You concentrate on yourself and our son, okay? Leave the rest."

She let him kiss her, then squeezed his hand again. "I'm plotting your death through the pain."

"Of course," Aaron replied with a smile.

Emily sat anxiously in her hospital bed, exhausted, but unable to sleep. The nurses and doctors had whisked her son away as soon as he was born, though she had been able to hear her son's first cry and Aaron had been able to cut the umbilical cord. Still., she needed her son in her arms, needed to see him alive and well.

"Mommy!"

She managed a small smile as her two-year-old daughter led the way into the room with AJ and Aaron following behind. "Hey sweetheart."

"Where Baby?" Kate asked, eyes blinking up at her, even as she tried to scramble up on the bed.

"Katie, careful," Aaron scolded, coming up and lifting the toddler into his arms. Emily shuffled over to make room for her amongst the bedding and the wires. "Remember, Mommy's sore."

"I want baby," Kate said with a pout, plopping down against her mother.

"He's right here."

Emily found herself relaxing as her son was placed in her arms. "Hey there," she cooed quietly.

"Dat's our broder?" AJ asked quietly. She'd made her way around to Emily's other side, standing on the chair Aaron had been sitting on. He stood behind Kate, making sure the toddler didn't inadvertently topple off the bed.

"This is your brother," Emily agreed.

"What's his name?" AJ inquired.

Aaron traded a look with Emily. "Seth," he replied. "Seth Alexander."


	9. Chapter 9

Emily grinned widely and laughed at the faces her son was currently making at her as he sat in the grass. He was absolutely goofy, the perfect counterpoint to his three older siblings. She watched him crawl over to the blanket where, after lunch, she'd spread out his toys, and pushed herself off the ground, shaking her head affectionately. Seth may be Aaron's biological child, but personality-wise, it was almost impossible to tell. Seth didn't have Aaron's intensity or his supreme concentration. Her little boy got easily distracted, unlike his father and siblings. At least as far as they could see now.

Seth plopped himself down on his rear. It was play day in the park and though they weren't as often as Emily often hoped, wished and dreamed, it was enough. They were a family. She smiled and made her way over to her son, sitting on the edge of the blanket to play with him. Aaron and Jack were busy teaching AJ and Kate how to throw and catch a ball, so she was on Seth duty. She didn't mind. With three young children she rarely got the chance to lavish attention on just one.

Today, however, it seemed like not only was Seth's notoriously short attention span kicking in, but, it seemed, so was his daddy worship. He didn't have a favourite parent, but there were days he only wanted Daddy and days he only wanted Mommy. It seemed like he'd had his fill of Mommy now, and it was time for Daddy. His little hand pointed towards Aaron. "Dada!"

"You're right, that's Daddy," Emily agreed.

He crawled over to her, pushing himself up. He could stand on his own without support and both she and Aaron, even Jack on occasion, were trying to help him learn to walk. With a hand on her shoulder and her steadying hand at his back, he started bouncing. "Dada, Dada, Dada, Dada."

She laughed again. It was nice to be out and carefree, separate from the craziness that was usually the FBI. Every once in a while, Emily found herself wishing this was the life she led, one where her children were her top priority, the most important things in her life. They were, there was no doubt about that, but unfortunately, they still often took second place to her job. It was less so now than when AJ was born, but there had still been at least a handful of times where she hadn't made it home to tuck her children in bed.

Still, neither she nor Aaron had missed important milestones in the lives of their children. Aaron had been there for AJ's first word, Emily for Kate's and both of them for Seth's. Aaron had been the one who taught Kate to walk and, much to both parents' surprise, it had been Jack that had been the one to see AJ's first steps. Emily and Aaron had both already booked off the morning of what was going to be AJ's first day at school in September. They were dedicated parents.

With careful manoeuvring and the experience of practice, Emily managed to get herself standing, holding both of Seth's hands as he started off towards the rest of his family. He'd been getting better at putting one foot in front of the other and Emily could tell he wasn't leaning on her as much as he had when he started. "Aaron," she called, keeping her eyes on Seth and the uneven ground in front of them.

He turned and Seth let out a happy little gurgle as his daddy held out his arms. "Hey buddy!"

Seth picked up his pace and Emily grinned as she swung him forward a few steps. Biting her lip and looking up at her husband, she had an idea. She stopped moving, and so did Seth, no more than three or four baby steps from Aaron. He saw the gleam in her eye and grinned widely, crouching down to Seth's level.

"Ready, buddy?" Aaron asked as Emily gently removed his hands from her grip, letting him go completely. He stood there, still a little wobbly on the uneven grass.

"Dada!"

"That's right, Seth, Daddy. Come on," Aaron coaxed, holding out his arms again. "Come to Daddy."

Seth's face screwed up and he swivelled his head to look back at her... promptly overbalancing himself and falling to his bum. Emily and Aaron both laughed, a technique they learned with their girls to stop crying and Emily righted him again. "Go on, sweetheart. Daddy's right there."

Slowly, both parents watched as their youngest put one foot in front of the other, seemingly testing the first couple of steps before he just went for it, tumbling headlong into Aaron's chest. But Aaron was too excited to really think much of it and tumbled over backwards with his littlest boy, tickling his sides.

"Good job!" Aaron exclaimed as Seth laughed heartily, squirming on his father's chest.

"What happened?" Jack asked, running up.

"Seth just took his first steps all by himself!" Emily replied, beaming at the little boy still laughing with his father.

"No way!" Jack exclaimed. Having been the one to 'teach' AJ, Jack had an entirely different view on a baby's first steps than most teenagers did.

"Yes way!" his father replied, finally letting up on tickling Seth. "All by himself!"

Seth pushed himself upright, aware of only the grins on his parents' faces and the happiness surrounding him. He bounced on his father's stomach. "Dada! Dada! Dada!"

"Daddy!"

"Jack!"

Two little girl voice called to their family.

"Seth just took his first steps!" Jack called back.

"So?" AJ responded, her hands going to her hips.

"God, she looks just like you when she does that," Aaron murmured to his wife, then crooked a finger so she bent down. "But you... You look hot when you're angry. She's just adorable."

Emily blushed as she leaned away again, slapping at his shoulder. Seth mirrored the movement happily, still chanting 'Dada'. Emily chuckled. "You're right, but we don't hit Daddy, okay?" she said, grasping his little wrist as he went to do it again. "No hitting."

"I want to play ball!" Kate called, catching both parents' attention again.

Emily dusted herself off and stood. "Well why don't I play with you?"

"You can't play ball, Mommy!" Kate replied.

Emily took that for what it was meant. Kate had no idea whether or not she could throw a ball, all Kate knew was that she wanted to play with her dad. Mommy wouldn't cut it this time.

"How about we all play?" Aaron suggested, allowing Emily to take Seth as he stood, then taking his son back and propping him against his hip. Kate and AJ didn't throw that hard, and he and Jack were pretty much taking turns catching the ball and throwing it back. He could play with Seth on his hip.

"My turn! My turn!" Kate yelled, jumping up and down with the ball in her hand.

Emily exchanged a look with her husband, still giddy. Playing catch with them all, watching her son take his first steps... Today was a good day.


	10. Chapter 10

AJ jumped as she watched a shadow crawl across the wall. She and Gabi had headed to a friend's birthday where they'd watched a horror movie. AJ didn't do horror movies, but it has been a birthday and everyone else had wanted to see the movie. She didn't want to seem like a wimp. But now, every creak of the house, every shadow on the wall, made her jump.

"Gabi?"

"You're still awake too?" Gabi whispered.

"I'm too afraid to close my eyes," AJ whispered back. "I keep thinking the shadows are mosters."

"You have a tree tapping on your window," Gabi replied, wriggling slightly closer.

"What are we going to do?" AJ asked, gripping her blankets. "I can't sleep."

"I always climb in with Daddy when I can't sleep," Gabi revealed.

AJ nodded, even though Gabi couldn't see her. "Me too." They were best friends, they didn't keep secrets.

Then there was a scratch and a creak and both girls sprung upwards, Gabi clutching the Build-a-Bear she'd had since infancy. AJ held the puppy she'd been given on her first birthday. They exchanged a look and all but bolted out of the room.

"Mommy?" AJ whispered. "Mommy?"

Emily heard her daughter calling and rolled sleepily out of her husband's warm arms. It wasn't just AJ peering at her, but Gabi too. "What's wrong?"

"We're scared," AJ whispered.

Emily sighed. She'd wondered if the girls would be able to sleep. Aaron had Googled the movie since neither of them had known what it was about. She'd voiced her concern almost immediately. Aaron had agreed. And now, both girls looking were looking over the edge of the bed. She knew she had only one choice. "Climb in."

Almost immediately Gabi scrambled up while AJ raced around to climb on Aaron's side. Gabi cuddled into her chest almost immediately, her bear Boo squished between them. From the day both girls were born, Emily and Penelope had ensured that both girls considered not only their biological mothers as their mothers, but also all of the women that were part of their BAU family. She heard Aaron grunt as AJ woke him.

"Annie."

"I'm scared, Daddy."

Emily grinned. AJ was her father's little baby girl and she could play the man as if she'd been studying behaviour for years and years.

"What happened, sweetheart?"

"The movie," AJ replied in a small voice. "It was scary."

Emily smiled as her husband rolled over. "We've got two for the price of one," she said, waving at the bundle of floral and flannel beside her.

Aaron sighed. "Excellent."

3am.

He hated 3am.

He hated 3am, lying in bed with two little girls and his wife when one of those two little girls was in the throes of a nightmare. He sighed, wrapping his arms around his daughter the same way he wrapped Emily in her arms when she had a nightmare. And AJ, he knew, was prone to nightmares.

Aaron sighed once AJ had settled down. He wanted to sleep. He needed to sleep. He'd planned his Saturday carefully, knowing his Honey-Do-List was eight miles long and aware he and Jack had made plans to hit the baseball game with Seth for some all-boy bonding. But at the rate of AJ's nightmares and the way she was trading off with Gabi, sleep wasn't going to come.

AJ rolled into her mother and Aaron rolled onto his back, looking up at the ceiling. He had two options. He could stay and modify his plans for the next day to decrease the danger he could put himself in because of exhaustion and sleep deprivation or, he could leave the nightmares to Emily and climb into AJ's vacated bed. Because he really didn't want to go through the off-putting feeling when he slept in.

And that dragged him out of his warm comfortable bed into the cooler sheets of his daughter's. Still, he sighed as he rolled over and dropped off to sleep.

"Aaron."

There was amusement in Emily's voice as it sounded from far away. He reached out for her, only to fall off the edge of the bed, hitting the floor. That woke him up quickly. Emily was standing over him with the digital camera in her hands. He blinked sleepily as the flash went off. "You are a cruel woman."

Emily sat on the edge of AJ's bright purple comforter, giggling. "Purple is definitely is your colour."

"Don't mock," he said, through a yawn as he pulled himself up off the floor. "I probably got more sleep than you did."

"I'm sure you did," she replied, watching intently as he stretched. "When Annie wasn't tossing and turning, Gabi was. Thank goodness Pen's taking them today. Convincing Kate that today is a quiet day with her and her mommy shouldn't be that difficult."

"Where are the girls?" he asked, settling down next to her and pulling her legs across his lap.

"Creating a fort out of our bed," she replied. "It's going to be fun to try and make it."

Aaron sighed, pulling her closer and kissing her temple. "Katie will help. Our little housewife."

She pinched his shoulder and clucked her tongue.

He hissed in pain. "Come on. You find it hilarious when she orders her siblings to pick up after themselves."

"Of course it's hilarious. It's funnier that even Jack at ten years older, listens," Emily replied, curling into him.

"Can we make a deal?" he asked on a sigh.

"I'm listening."

"We check and see what movie AJ's going to watch before hand? She can use us as a scapegoat with her friends when she says 'no, I can't see that movie'. She's prone to nightmares, we know that," Aaron answered.

She was already nodding her agreement. "Definitely. What kind of parents are we if we have no idea what she's going to see."

"Excellent," he replied, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Alright, Mister Hotchner, I have two girls to prep for a day of girlie-ness. Seth is probably downstairs and Kate will sleep all day, if we don't wake her up." She stood, but he pulled her back, pulling her down to straddle his lap and pulling her into a passionate kiss.

Emily was panting when she pulled away. "What was that about?" she inquired.

"I didn't get my good morning kiss," he answered, his hands stroking up and down her back. He grinned as she shivered against him.

"And we're in your daughter's room so you'd better not be hoping for anything else," she scolded. "And don't deny it, I know that insistent-" She gasped as his hand snuck under her shirt and brushed very lightly up her spine. "Touch."

Aaron chuckled lowly. "Let's go away."

"Mmm, what?"

"Let's go away," he repeated. "It's been a long time since we've had time to ourselves."

"When?"

"Soon," he replied. "Next weekend."

"Short noticed," she said, pulling his hands off of her skin and holding them tightly in hers.

"We're not going far," he replied. "A small place, just for some childless time together."

Emily grinned. "Mom will watch anyone Jayje and Pen won't take."

"Then it's settled," he decided, kissing her again, despite the grip she had on his hands.

She pulled herself up and away. "I'll go make the calls."

"I'm going to shower. I'll wake Katie up."

"Breakfast in half an hour."


	11. Chapter 11

Jack's eyes opened groggily as he felt his mattress shift. While he'd inherited his father's unfortunate habit of sleeping very lightly, he hadn't inherited the ability to wake clear-headed. So who, or what, was currently climbing into his bed? Two somethings, if his mind could tell properly. The bed squeaked, right at the spot it usually did, and Jack couldn't stop his smile when all movement stopped.

"Shh, Neenee! You wake him up!"

Kate, his mind supplied. His little sister. And the only person she ever called 'Neenee' was his oldest younger sibling, AJ. His smile turned to a frown. He'd been staying with his dad and Emily for almost two weeks now while his mother was whisked away on a honeymoon. And honestly, he was surprised at his current predicament. Usually, his sisters snuck into Mom and Dad's bed instead of big brother Jack's.

"What's going on?"

His voice made both of them freeze.

"See what you goned and doned?!" Kate said and Jack could hear the pout in his voice.

"I'm a light sleeper, Katie, it's not Annie's fault. What are you two doing down here? I'm not very good at helping with nightmares," Jack said, pushing himself up against the headboard.

AJ was the first to crawl up and snuggle against his side. He and AJ had always held a closer bond than he had with the other two, but it didn't seem to faze any of them. He wrapped his arm around her as she curled tighter into his side. Something was most definitely wrong.

"Mommy and Daddy are fighting," his seven-year-old sister said as Kate crawled up and sat on her ankles beside him.

"Fighting?" He hadn't heard Emily and his father fighting. In fact, they seemed perfectly normal and had since he'd arrived.

"They're yelling at each other," AJ explained. "It's not the first time either."

"They've been yelling at each other?"

"Yeah," Kate replied, bunching her fists in her nightgown.

"What about?" Jack asked, raising his other arm for Kate to crawl under. He hugged them both.

"Mommy thinks Daddy's working too much. And that he's not spending time with us," AJ replied, snuggling into his warmth.

Jack pulled the blankets up around them. "And Daddy?" At fourteen, he didn't refer to his father as 'Daddy' anymore, but he did with his siblings.

"Daddy thinks Mommy's just upset because we haven't had family time. With Mommy and Daddy's work and then our stuff…And Bumps had to go see the doctor."

That much Jack had noticed. There didn't seem to be as many movie nights or game nights. He couldn't remember the last time they'd all gone to the park together as a family or had a picnic on the basement floor just for the fun of it. "How long have they been fighting?"

He felt both of his sisters shrug. AJ ducked her head against his shoulder. "Nat's said her mommy and daddy fought a lot before they..."

Jack swallowed thickly. "Divorced?"

He felt AJ nod against his shoulder.

"Are Mommy and Daddy going to do dat?" Kate asked quietly, curling tighter into him.

"Of course not," Jack replied, aiming for reassurance.

AJ sniffled. "Can we stay here?" she asked. "I don't wanna hear Mommy and Daddy yelling anymore."

"Yeah," Jack agreed. "Come on. Under the covers."

Jack lay awake long after AJ and Kate had fallen asleep thinking. It wasn't like Emily and his dad to have fights that their children could hear. He wasn't stupid, and at fourteen, he wasn't disillusioned enough to think that parents didn't fight. He couldn't remember his own parents fighting, but as he'd grown up his parents had been more open about their own divorce. He knew they'd fought a lot prior to splitting up. But at the same time, Jack couldn't remember seeing two people more in love than Emily and his father. They always seemed that way. They loved each other because of their good things, and their faults. So why were they fighting?

Emily woke the next morning, wrapped in her husband's arms, but to a very quiet house. She sighed and snuggled into him, knowing it was a Thursday, but unwilling to get up and face the day. She hated it when they fought about stupid things and she knew she'd picked the fight. She'd been stressed. Her father had been hospitalized three weeks ago because of a heart attack and she'd been faced with the terrifying reality of living without her father. Adding to that just general life stress of raising three young children and missing her husband because they always seemed to be so incredibly busy... Emily had snapped. But they'd made a promise when they made their vows to try their very best not to go to bed angry at each other when they could try and fix it instead.

She smiled as she felt Aaron's lips brush her shoulder. "Morning sweetheart."

She turned in his arms. "Good morning." She sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's over," he told her. "We both said things we didn't mean."

They had. It was an unfortunate inevitability when they fought, but they had apologized the night before too. Things said in the heat of the moment were rarely meant but could be just as painful. She looked up at him with earnest eyes. "You don't teach today, right?"

"I'd been planning on going into the office to do some marking. Why?"

"Is your marking at home?" she asked, rolling him and herself so she straddled his waist. She felt heat start to coil in her belly when his eyes darkened and his hands came up to bracket her hips.

"Yes."

She leaned down and kissed him softly, arching into his body when his hand slipped under the tank top she wore to sleep in, stroking her lower back. "Let's stay home."

They didn't do this type of thing every time they fought because both of them felt that they had responsibilities during the day that didn't always include their family. Night time and weekends were for family and only family. Ninety-nine percent of the time.

"I'll help you mark," she cajoled against his mouth.

He chuckled into hers. "No you won't. You'll watch some terrible soap while I read papers."

She pulled back and rolled her eyes. "It was a one-time offer."

"And I missed the boat," he said, still laughing slightly. Then his face turned serious and his hand slid up and down her side, dipping into the curve of her waist between breasts and hip. "I think it's a great idea. A day to ourselves."

Emily knew her smile was blinding and she could feel the excitement welling up in her stomach at the thought of spending the day together, just the two of them. They hadn't had that in a long time, and though she loved her children, she was a firm believer that if she and Aaron didn't take time for themselves, they often ended up fighting. Usually they were better than that, catching the feelings creeping in early and rectifying the situation before there was an explosion. This time, they hadn't been that lucky.

"Kids or breakfast?" she asked, leaning down to kiss him quickly before rolling out of bed.

"Breakfast," he replied. "A big one."

She heard him get out of bed and pretended to shuffle through her dresser until he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"I love you," he said, kissing her head.

"I love you, too," she answered quietly, contentedly.

He let her go reluctantly as she pulled out a pair of lounge pants and a long-sleeved tee-shirt. She heard him leave and smiled to herself. It was moments like that morning that made her think everything would always be okay with them. Bickering and teasing was normal, but there was nothing both of them hated more than when they were fighting. With a contented smile, she stripped out of her pyjamas and pulled on her clothes before heading off down the hall. The first stop was three-year-old Seth's room. She smiled affectionately as she saw his small form curled up in the very corner of his bed. He slept like the dead, and always as close to the wall as he possibly could. She sat down on the edge, reaching out to stroke his head.

"Seth, it's time to get up, honey," she said, carefully pulling the blankets away from his small body.

Her little boy whined and tried to bury his head further into the blankets and away from his mother's voice and touch. "No."

Emily chuckled. "Yes. Come on, up." This time, she rolled him carefully and lifted him into her arms. This was a normal routine with them. Seth was not a morning boy. He buried his head in her neck as she wandered over to where his clothes had been laid out the night before. With three, sometimes four kids to get ready and out the door, she and Aaron prepared as much at night as they possibly could. It made it easier to get them out the door. She dropped his clothes to the floor, slowly lowering them both down. This was a normal routine and she had it down to a science after almost a year and a half of doing it. PJ pants were quickly exchanged for real pants and the same was done on top. She sat him in her lap while she slid his socks on his little feet, then carried him downstairs where he'd cling to Aaron's leg while she woke the girls.

But there were no girls to be found. She tried to tamp down her panic as she rushed out of Kate's room having found AJ's empty. Sometimes, her girls ended up in the same bed together and while she'd recognized that it was most often the days she and Aaron fought – and she'd realized that they were being loud enough to wake the children and felt horribly guilty every time – they'd never both disappeared from their rooms before.

"Aaron?"

"Yes, honey?"

"Are the girls downstairs?" she called down as she raced from their rooms.

He met her in the hallway, Seth in his arms. "No. They're not upstairs?"

Emily shook her head, trying her best not to absolutely lose it. "Their beds are messy. So they slept in them... and didn't make them..."

"Okay, okay," he said, coming and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "They wouldn't leave the house."

Which was what worried her. AJ and Kate would never leave the house on their own. Ever.

"Morning." Jack looked a little worse for wear as he stumbled up the stairs from his basement room. He was already dressed, though his hair was a mess.

"Have you seen your sisters?" Aaron asked immediately, rubbing his hand on Emily's upper arm.

Jack nodded and Emily felt herself deflate. "They're downstairs. They came down last night."

Guilt hit Emily full force and as she looked up at her husband, she could tell he was feeling the same. They'd never let their fights get that bad before, but between his teaching and her rather stressful last six weeks, they hadn't found time to just sit and talk. They were adults, they could talk out most of their problems. And the ones that really peeved them off... well, they were usually much, much better at keeping their anger to a low hiss. But there had been yelling last night.

Jack cocked his head to the side. "They heard you fighting. Everything okay?"

Emily knew there were two reasons for Jack to be asking the question. The fourteen-year-old knew that his parents had fought before their divorce and Jack worried about his siblings. He called often when he wasn't around, just to talk to them. He was a good brother like that. So she left the safe comforting haven of her husband's arm to hug the boy that may not have been hers by blood, but she still loved and cared deeply for. She shot her husband a look as she headed down the stairs, and he nodded. He would handle Jack. She would go get her girls.

She sighed as she stood in the doorway of Jack's room and looked at them both. They were curled up in little balls – Jack's bed really wasn't big enough for three people, even if two of them were little girls – both of them with eyes closed. She could tell by AJ's breathing that she wasn't quite back to sleep yet, but the rise and fall of Kate's chest was even. Her youngest daughter had always had an easier time falling asleep than her oldest. She perched on the end of the bed, reaching over to stroke AJ's back.

"Annie, it's morning."

Identical brown eyes were filled with fear when they met hers and AJ curled in on herself a little tighter. "Five more minutes?"

"No, sweetheart. Time to get up." Then she reached over for Kate who, in waking, tried to push herself up. Her little hand slipped down the small space between the wall and Jack's bed and before Emily could catch her, her little face impacted the wall. Emily held her breath as the wail came. With a sigh, she slid up Jack's messy bed until she sat between her girls and pulled Kate into her lap. Emily rubbed her daughter's back and placed the requisite, if extra soft, kiss on her nose. Then she waited for Kate to calm down before asking the question on her mind.

"Why did you guys sleep down here?"

AJ wouldn't look at her and the guilt gnawed just a little harder at her stomach. She and Aaron had taught their kids not to lie to their parents. Lying made the situation worse, not better. "You and Daddy were fighting."

The gnawing got worse. "I'm sorry you heard us, sweetheart." She hugged Kate closer to her chest. "Both of you. We shouldn't have been talking so loud."

"You were yelling," Kate said with a sniffle. Her nose still ached from where she'd bumped it.

Emily brushed the tears off of her daughter's cheeks. "I'm so sorry, honey."

As she looked over to AJ, she noticed her oldest still wouldn't meet her gaze. "Annie?"

The seven-year-old bit her lip. Chewed it, actually, which was one of the most telling quirks that meant she was really upset. She made a mental note to talk to Aaron about this never happening again. Children could always sense tension. She'd bet that at least subconsciously, their kids had felt the fight coming.

"Mommy, are you and Daddy going to split up?" she asked in a little voice.

Emily felt tears come to her eyes. "No, honey. No we're not. Even Mommies and Daddies fight sometimes."

Her first baby sniffled. "But when Mommies and Daddies fight, one of them goes away. That's what all my friends say."

Emily reached out for AJ, pulling her snugly to her side. "Fighting is normal, honey. Both of you. I love your daddy with everything in me. I couldn't live without him."

"Then why are you fighting?" Kate asked, her cheek pillowed over her mother's heart. The steady beat was calming to her and always had been. To all of her children.

"Sometimes we fight," Emily replied quietly. "We try to make sure you can't hear it. Sometimes things pile up and the only way to deal with it is to fight about it." She jostled them both. "Look at me, girls."

They did, with fearful, watery eyes.

"When your daddy and I got married, we promised to death til us part," she said seriously. "And we both take that very seriously. There's going to be rough patches. There's going to be times where we fight, but we always promised each other we would never go to bed angry. Your daddy isn't going anywhere and neither am I, okay?"

"Promise?" Kate asked in a quiet voice.

She hugged both of her girls. "I promise." She hugged them tighter for another moment. "Come on. Time to get up and go to school."

"Can't we stay home today?" Kate asked with a whine.

"No," Emily replied chuckling. Though she and Aaron were taking the day off, and as much as she loved her children, they needed the time together. She made another mental note to talk to Aaron about taking the kids away. A family weekend, away from everything. Maybe her parents' place.

"But Mommy!"

"No 'but Mommy's today," Emily said. "Go on, get dressed. Maybe, if you ask him nicely, Daddy'll drive you to school."

She smiled as they both scampered out of the room.

Aaron smiled as he closed and locked the front door behind him. Emily sat on the couch, still in her loungewear, watching some sort of morning talk show. They were a guilty pleasure of hers, one she rarely, if ever, got to indulge in. He slid onto the couch beside her, wrapping her up in his arms. The day after a fight was often the hardest for them both because they wanted nothing more than to reaffirm that everything was okay. While sex was often a way to fix that, he knew they both felt that there were other ways. Cuddling was one of them and he sighed in contentment as Emily snuggled deeper into his arms. After a few moments, she shifted, meeting his eyes.

"Did Jack tell you why Annie and Katie were down with him?"

Aaron sighed. That had been a painful few moments in his life. Never in a million years would he want to give his children the illusion that he and Emily were having problems they couldn't eventually solve. Sure, some of them took work and time, but they tried to solve them to the best of their abilities. Or at the very least compromise around them.

"Jack said they heard us yelling. That they got scared."

"They thought we were considering divorce, Aaron."

The raw pain in her voice made him shift her, moving her until she was sitting on his knees. He ignored the ache in old injuries and over-used muscles in favour of looking her right in the eye, his hands linked behind her back, hers resting around his neck. "Neither of us meant for that to happen." He knew he had to tread on thin ice. The pain alone wasn't always enough to clue him into what she was thinking. Whatever it was, he knew it went deeper than that.

"What kind of parents make their kids think they're going to split up?" she asked quietly, her fingers stroking the hair at the nape of his neck. "How could we do that to them?"

Aaron stroked her back. He'd asked himself the same question over his conversation with a concerned Jack. The only thing he'd been able to do was reassure his son that he wasn't about to add a second divorce to his life. One was enough, and it wasn't like he didn't worship the ground Emily walked on. He loved her with everything in him. But that was the best reassurance he could give his son. "We didn't do it deliberately, sweetheart."

She sighed. "I know, but it still hurts. We try so hard to protect them..."

"What's important is that neither of us have plans to go anywhere," he said, reaching up to cup her cheek. "All we can do is tell them that. Fighting is normal, even though I hate fighting with you."

"I hate fighting with you, too," she replied with a small smile. "And that's exactly what I said to the girls. We're not going anywhere. But I guess one of their friends' parents went through a fighting stage..."

"This isn't a stage, Emily. We had a fight. It's over now. It's in the past." He pulled her forward, sealing his mouth to hers, hoping to wash away the pain she was feeling. It didn't always work, but he had a whole arsenal of things that were likely to cheer her up. He'd been with her too long not to.

She rested her forehead on his as she pulled away. "In the past. Got it," she promised. She slid off of his lap, cuddling into his side instead.

He pulled her tight, kissing her head with a smile. They really should have done this sooner. He'd started to miss her with all the time they'd both been spending at the office recently. He rested his head on hers. "I love you, Emily Hotchner."

She kissed his neck gently. "I love you too, Aaron Hotchner."


	12. Chapter 12

"You know, we used to be like that," Penelope said, vaguely waving an ice cream cone at a group of young women who couldn't be above the age of twenty. It was a well-deserved weekend vacation to the beach. The kids were happily playing in the shore, Jack seeming to be able to keep an eye on most of them at the same time. Little Eric, JJ and Reid's youngest, was asleep on a blanket beside his mother, curled up with another towel as a pillow, his Binkey tucked under his arm.

JJ raised an eyebrow as she glanced over at Penelope. "Uh... last time I checked, I still was that person."

"Babe, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, it's been a while since you were like that," Penelope replied. She sighed. "We're getting old."

"Now, Mama, come on. That's not true," Derek argued

"Derek if you are about to tell me I'm still the most beautiful woman you've ever seen, I swear I may hurt you," Penelope shot back.

"Come on, Pen, it's not that bad," Emily spoke up, stretched out comfortably on her stomach beside the low chair Aaron occupies. The way his fingers continuously ghosted over her skin almost made her purr in contentment. "But you are right, My college days are long gone."

"And yet, you're as beautiful as ever," Aaron said, glancing at his wife over the edge of his book. It was a textbook he was considering putting on his syllabus.

Emily laughed, pushing herself up far enough to grab his hand and press a kiss to his palm. "Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Hotchner."

"Oh, I know, Mrs. Hotchner," Aaron replied waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Emily and Aaron laughed whole-heartedly at the disturbed look on the faces of the others. It was still difficult for each of them to see Aaron as anything other than 'Hotch' and their boss. Sometimes they got a kick out of being especially suggestive around the team, if only to get a reaction out of them.

"But seriously," Emily began. "We've got more to offer the world than they do." She waved vaguely at where the college co-eds had gone.

"And less communicable diseases," JJ agreed.

"Pssht," Derek said from beneath Penelope. She was rubbing sunscreen into his dark skin. "More than that."

"You're more worldly," Reid jumped in, much to everyone's surprise.

"Only you could make that sound like a compliment, honey," JJ said, leaning over to kiss her husband's cheek. "Worldly."

"Well, you are much better travelled than they probably are," Aaron agreed, absently tracing a hand over a puckered scar on Emily's back. "You've experienced a lot more."

"You have more patience," Derek added. "To put up with us."

"Eh, you boys aren't that bad," Penelope replied with a wide grin. "Putting up with you isn't always painful."

"Sometimes it's even fun," JJ agreed, ruffling Spencer's still-shaggy hair.

"But best of all," Aaron began as Emily rolled to her back. His hand went to a scar on her stomach that still hadn't faded. "You are brilliant mothers."

Emily smiled as her hand covered his over her scar. Their youngest, Seth, had had to be delivered by c-section. "We're only complimenting you boys."

A wail broke through the air interrupting their conversation and all six parents looked towards the waterline to discover the source of the wail and it's cause. Emily and Pen sighed, realizing it was their children involved, pushing themselves up to go and investigate. Pen scooped her three-year-old son out of the salty spray as Emily eyed her own daughter Kate, and Calleigh Reid.

"What happened?" she asked, hands on hips.

"He came out too far," Kate said immediately. "They're supposed to stay on 'a sand."

"So are you," Emily reminded her daughter swiftly, making it clear that they were not getting out of this without at the very least a scolding.

Penelope was wiping gently at her son's face "What did we say about going into the water?" Pen asked, scolding her son slightly.

"Wit Mommy and Daddy," two other little voices chorused.

Emily smiled at Nate Reid and her own Seth approvingly. "Right."

It was then that they were approached by a man holding the hand of his fully life-jacketed son. "Salt water in the eyes?" he asked pleasantly as the waved lapped at their feet.

"Unfortunately," Emily agreed with a sigh, the way her hands perched unwittingly showing her body off to the man.

"Some clean water should wash it out as quick as a bunny," he replied with a wide smile.

Emily smiled at the twitter of laughter that came from the children assembled around her.

"They all yours?" he asked as his son hopped over the small crests of wave that washed over their feet.

"Oh no," Emily said with a laugh as Penelope came up beside her. "Two of these. Two more up on the beach." She waved in the vague direction of where Jack, Gabi and AJ seemed to be busy planning and building the 'most epic sandcastle'.

He looked her up and down. "You are much too beautiful to have given birth to four kids." Then he looked at Penelope. "And you?"

"Two," she answered. Even so many years after Battle, Penelope still had a difficult time trusting strangers.

"There has to be a secret then."

"Oh?" Emily asked with a raised eyebrow. "Secret for what?" She seriously couldn't decide if he was using the little boy at his feet or if the two of them were truly related. Of course, there was the potential that both were true.

"Six kids between such beautiful women," he responded with a charming smile. "There must be a secret as to how you are both so beautiful."

Emily was seriously trying not to laugh, but Penelope wasn't as successful. A snort of laughter escaped her mouth. "Our husbands would probably agree," she said, amusement loud in her voice.

Emily watched his body language back off immediately. She cut him a little slack, mostly because none of the women had worn their wedding rings, too afraid of getting sand in the settings or having them accidentally slip off in the water. There was nothing to broadcast their married status.

"Kate, Cal, come on," Emily said, deciding to cut the guy off while he was ahead and lifting Seth into her arms. She held out her other hand for Nate. "Time for sunscreen."

She grinned at Penelope as they made their way bac up the beach with their children. "Looks like we're not quite over the hill yet."

Penelope rolled her eyes. "Okay, I get it. I'll wait at least another decade to call us old."

Emily laughed as she handed Seth to her husband to dig the sunscreen out of their beach bag. "You wait until we stop getting hit on to call us too old."

"Whoa, someone hit on my girl?" Derek asked, already beginning to slather sunscreen on Chris.

"Watch yourself, Derek," Aaron warned, watching Penelope's eyebrow arch slowly.

"What?" the African-American man asked his wife. "It's not my fault they didn't find you first."

"Says the man who took how many years to tell me he loved me?" Penelope shot back.

"Now, really? You're going to hold that against me?"

Penelope grinned. "For the rest of our days, Hot Stuff. And even after."

"You love her for it," JJ spoke up.

Derek grinned. "Every day of my life."


	13. Chapter 13

Katherine Marie Hotchner was the quiet child. Sure, she could nag like her mother and drive her siblings batty with the best of 'em, but all in all, she was the quiet child. Which is why, at 6am, the last person Emily expected to be shaking her awake would be her youngest daughter.

"Mommy! Mommy wake up!"

Emily groaned and rolled into her husband's warm back. The little voice would go away in a minute. It was Saturday, the day where all parents got the chance to sleep in. The Hotchner children took Mommy and Daddy's Saturday morning sleep in seriously. But apparently, there was an exception to every rule.

"Mommy!"

"That's your daughter," Aaron mumbled as he turned over and wrapped her up in his arms.

"Can she be your daughter today?" Emily asked with a pout. "I'm sleeping."

"I can't argue with a six-year-old who wants her mommy."

"I'm right here," said child replied. "And I'm not six anymore, Daddy!"

Oh.

Now the world made sense.

It was Saturday. It was Kate's birthday. It was Kate's birthday and the now-seven-year-old knew exactly what was in store for her. Maybe that was why Emily seemed to let it slip her mind. For the first time, she wasn't in charge of planning her child's birthday. Her mother and father had taken on that daunting task and Emily had a feeling that her daughter was about to be completely and utterly spoiled.

By now, Kate had climbed up on the bed and was bouncing on her knees on the mattress. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

Emily looked up at Aaron, a glint in her eye. Moments later, she'd snatched her daughter by the waist and dragged her over her body, settling her in between her parents.

"No!" Kate cried. "Today's my birthday!"

Emily grinned as Aaron put on a surprised face. "Is it really?"

"Daddy! You know it's my birthday! I've been counting down for years!"

It was more like the last three weeks, but Emily didn't have the heart to correct her daughter today.

Aaron's smile was indulgent. "Weeks, sweetheart. You're still only seven."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Wake up! We promised Nana and Bumps that we'd be there by lunch time!"

Where Kate had gotten 'Bumps' for her grandfather, no one was sure. She was the only one who called Emily's father by 'Bumps'.

Aaron rolled over to check the time. "Katie, its six in the morning. We have more than enough time to Nana and Bumps' house."

The girl huffed, pushing herself up to all fours and scooting down the bed and to the floor. Emily marveled at how quickly she did it. "Fine. But we'd better not be late. Bumps promised me a huge present!"

Emily groaned as their daughter scampered out of the room. "If my father bought her a pony I'm going to kill him."

"A pony? I didn't think Kate wanted a pony," Aaron replied, curling himself around his wife.

"I don't either," Emily replied. "That doesn't mean my father won't buy her one. And if our parents are going to play that 'who can spoil their grandchild more' game, I might lose it. We're not going to have enough room in the car for all of our kids and Katie's presents."

"I talked to my parents, so they won't be the ones spoiling her," Aaron replied, kissing her forehead.

"Excellent. So whatever my parents have planned for this year, your parents are going to try and top next year. Kate's going to forget that we're not part of that world."

"You sound like a Disney song."

Emily laughed as he started to hum the song. She cuddled against him, threading a leg in between his as she settled down again. "Set the alarm, honey. We're going to have to be up in an hour."

"Then I'm officially decreeing tomorrow as this week's sleep in day," he said, letting her go to set the alarm.

Emily snorted in amusement. "You won't hear an argument from me."

It was hours later that the Hotchner family, followed closely by the Morgans and the Reids, turned into the driveway of Elizabeth and Jonathan Prentiss' home. The kids were used to seeing the large home, but as Emily exchanged a look with her husband, she'd bet everything she owned that her surrogate family was in awe.

And to think, Emily said to herself, There's still my parents' summer place.

She pulled the Hotchner car to a stop, unsurprised when the four children piled out without waiting for her to actually turn the car off. Even Seth, his booster seat having been dealt with by the older brother he idolized, was racing across the driveway as fast as his little legs would carry him. Emily and Aaron took a little bit more time, unpacking the back of the car and waiting for their colleagues.

"This is your parents' place?" JJ asked in awe, her youngest, Eric, on her hip.

"Yup," Emily replied, trying for cheerful. "You think this is bad, you should see his parents' place." She poked her finger into Aaron's arm.

"It's not much bigger than this," Aaron argued.

Penelope shook her head. "I have no idea how this can be so normal to you guys."

"Mommy! Come on! I want to find Bumps!"

"Then knock on the door," Emily called back, moving to take Aaron's hand as they made their way up the front drive. They made it to the front door just as Elizabeth Prentiss pulled it open.

"Nana!" The chorus went up

Elizabeth smiled and passed kisses out to her grandchildren. "There you are! Where's the birthday girl?"

"Here!" Kate exclaimed, rushing her grandmother, to wrap her hands around the older woman's leg. "Where's Bumps?"

"Inside. The conservatory."

The children let out a cheer and raced through the open front door. Emily grinned and shook her head as she climbed the steps to exchange hugs and kisses with her mother. "Apparently, they love Bumps more than Nana."

Elizabeth smiled. She'd relaxed more and more with every grandchild that had come along. Emily had been surprised at how much she had bonded with her mother with each of her children. She'd vaguely wondered if it was because Elizabeth hadn't been close with her own children, but stomped it down. Their relationship was repairing string by string, she wasn't about to damage it by accusing her mother of trying to make up for his mistakes with her own children. "Now, Emily, they know which grandparent is more likely to give in to their every whim."

"We're just hoping he hasn't gone over the top for Katie's birthday," Aaron supplemented, exchanging his own kisses with the Ambassador.

Emily's eyes widened when Elizabeth didn't immediately reassure her that no, Jonathan Prentiss hadn't completely gone overboard for his second granddaughter's birthday. "Mother, what did he do?"

"It might be better if I showed you."

So the entirety of their little posse made their way through the halls of the Prentiss home until they reached what was deemed the conservatory. Then Emily understood why. Kate was in her fairy tale phase. She adored fairies and princesses, preferably at the same time and it seemed like her parents had gone out of their way to create a fairy tale wonderland.

The conservatory was largely a garden, a year-round garden. For a reason Emily had yet to understand, her parents enjoyed gardening together. They tended a rather large garden in the glass-enclosed room and Emily could remember watching thunderstorms with her brother, wrapped in blankets under the same greenhouse roof. This time, however, fairy lights decorated all of the trees. There were stations set up around the room of costumes and face painting... Emily knew this was basically her daughter's dream. There was even a castle set up in one corner and Cinderella's carriage in another.

"Mother..."

"I managed to talk him down from having it outside, Emily, but that was the best I could do," Elizabeth replied.

Emily managed to dodge the children racing by. "I told him not to spoil her. She's going to start expecting it."

"It's one birthday, Emily, I'm sure it's fine," Aaron answered, rubbing the small of his wife's back.

"Good God, we're all screwed," JJ whispered as Elizabeth headed off to find her husband.

Emily closed her eyes. They were so screwed. They were going to be screwed for the rest of their lives when it came to birthdays.

"Mommy! Look! Look!"

Kate had found and dressed herself up in the best fairy outfit her little seven-year-old mind could come up with. Emily perched her hands on her hips.

"We're so screwed."


	14. Chapter 14

"Mommy!"

Both Emily and Aaron shot upright in their bed at the scream, Emily taking less time to detangle herself from the sheets than her husband. She held back from sprinting down the hall, but only just. She pushed open the door slowly, flipping on the light and bathing her son's room in the bright glow. She could hear Aaron's heavy breathing right behind her.

"Sweetheart, what happened?" she asked, immediately moving to her little boy's bedside. She glanced up as Aaron moved to the window, double-checking that it was, indeed, locked.

"They were coming after me!" Seth cried, crocodile tears streaming down his chubby cheeks.

She kissed his hair, still very much blonder than the rest of their biological relatives. "Who, honey?"

Seth snuggled right against her side, curling into a ball as tightly as he could. "The monsters, Mommy."

Emily found herself relaxing slightly. Monsters. She could deal with monsters and from the way Aaron's body was relaxing they both realized that it had been a bad dream. "It's okay baby, the monsters are gone. All gone."

"But they come back," Seth argued. Okay, so maybe it hadn't been a bad dream. Shadows could be monsters too.

"Nah," Aaron responded with a wide smile. "Monsters are afraid of the light."

"But I can't sleep with the light on," Seth pouted.

Aaron exchanged a look with Emily and then left. Emily cuddled Seth tightly to her side, trying not to grin as they waited for Aaron's return. When he did come back, there was a small object in his hand that Emily recognized oh too well.

"Daddy! I don't wanna night light," Seth argued.

"This isn't just any night light," Aaron replied sagely, well-aware of their son's 'big boy' phase. That meant no blankie, no little kid toys and obviously, no night light. "It's a special night light."

"Special?" Seth asked, as he messily wiped at the tears drying on his cheeks.

Aaron nodded seriously. "It was your brother's night light."

Seth screwed up his face. "Jack didn't have a night light!"

Emily exchanged a grin with her husband. Seth all but worshipped the ground Jack walked on and the light had indeed been in Jack's room until the boy was seven. He idolized his older brother and loved him dearly.

"Jack used this night light all the time when he was your age, and look at him now," Aaron said, turning the night light over in his hand. He held it out for his youngest. "You're allowed to use a night light. It doesn't make you any less of a big boy than Jack is."

Tentatively, and biting his lip, Seth took the night light from his father's outstretched hand. He wriggled himself off the bed, scampering to the plug behind his bedside table and very carefully sliding it into the socket. The light illuminated enough of the room that it was possible to see all of the furniture and determine which shadows were which.

"Is that better?" Aaron asked, exchanging a knowing look with his wife.

Seth nodded eagerly. "Can I go thank Jack?"

It was a Jack weekend and the fourteen-year-old was sound asleep in his basement room. Emily smiled indulgently. "Why don't you thank him at breakfast, okay?"

Seth scrambled back up on the bed, slipping between his parents to burrow under his blankets. "Okay. I think I can go to sleep now."

Emily and Aaron obediently pushed themselves off of Seth's bed, bending to kiss a cheek and Seth's head respectively.

"Good night, sweetheart," Emily said as she flicked off the overhead light.

"Night Mommy! Night Daddy!" Seth's little voice responded.

The next morning, the usually slow and lethargic Seth Hotchner was anything but. He was bouncing in his seat as Emily brought AJ and Kate down for breakfast. When Jack all but stumbled up the stairs, Seth was off like a rocket, bounding happily into his big brother's arms. Despite being groggy, Jack managed to catch him, letting out a strangled 'oomph'.

"Good morning to you too," Jack grumbled good-naturedly, lifting the boy into his arms. Seth was almost five and not light for his age, but Jack didn't seem to mind.

"Not morning," Seth argued, wrapping his arms around his big brother's neck.

"Not a good morning hug?" Jack asked to clarify, setting Seth down on the kitchen floor. "Then why?"

"Thank you," Seth replied with a wide, beaming smile. "For my night light."


	15. Chapter 15

"I don't know Pen," Emily said with a sigh. "Jack hasn't given us a date yet."

"Em, I need to know. Derek wants to go out to Chicago."

"I know," Emily promised, twirling the phone chord around her finger. "Jack's supposed to let us know as soon as he talks to Haley about it."

"Haley? I thought Christmas was already ironed out.

"Every other year it has been, but Jack turned sixteen and Aaron thought it was a good idea to let him make some of the decisions for himself. He's old enough."

"How is that going?"

"Usually well. This is the first time Jack hasn't been able to give us an answer right away," Emily replied. "Haley's always been good about the holidays so I'm hoping this has nothing to do with her."

Penelope's sigh was audible over the phone. "Let me know, okay?"

"As soon as I know you'll know, Pen."

"Alright!" She was back to her perky tone of voice. "And Gabi wants AJ over tomorrow night."

Emily hummed as she glanced at the calendar. "Tomorrow's a PA Day... I have the kids at the dentist tomorrow at three, so I can drop AJ off on the way home."

"Gabi's got the day with her father, can we do later?"

Emily laughed. Something caught her eye, and she recognized Jack's bright orange t-shirt. She smiled to herself. "When did life get this complicated?"

"When we all started having families," Penelope laughed. "I can pick her up."

"No, no. Kate has vocal, so I'll drop her off before I run Kate down to her vocal teacher's," Emily contradicted.

"Sounds good to me. Someone'll bring her home Saturday morning."

'Goodnight, Pen."

"Night Em."

Emily hung up the phone and waited. Jack was lurking and had been for the better part of the last two weeks. Emily knew the tactic because his father did the same thing when he had something he wanted to talk to her about, but wasn't sure of her reaction or wasn't sure how to bring it up. So, she waited patiently, knowing Aaron was up with his girls and Seth, leaving her and Jack on the main level. She moved into the living room, relaxing on the couch with a book and settling in to wait. Eventually, she looked up and saw him waiting in the doorway. "Hey, Jack. Everything okay?"

"No," he answered after a moment. Relief was heavy in his voice.

Emily tried not to smile. She wasn't getting rusty in the slightest. "What's wrong?" She stuck her bookmark in her book and patted the cushion beside her.

"It's Mom," Jack said slowly, still nervous.

Haley wasn't often brought up in the Hotchner household, not because of anything bad she'd done but because she wasn't brought up and no one knew how anyone else would react. Haley hadn't affected Emily's relationship with Aaron, but he'd always been uncomfortable talking about his ex-wife. Jack had simply absorbed their reluctance and never brought up his mother.

"What happened?" Emily asked.

Jack still looked unsure, biting his lip. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," she replied with a smile. "If there's something wrong I want you to feel like you can come to me, if you're not comfortable talking about it with your father, even if it's your mom."

"It's Christmas!" Jack exploded. "Mom has deliberately planned everything so that I can't fit in what I want to do! And just when I think I have a compromise, and I tell her about it, she gets depressed, or acts like it."

She sighed. Apparently Haley had caught onto the system and for the first time, had started exploiting it. "When?"

"Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day... Everyday Dad and I talked about having Christmas with the family," Jack replied.

"And you don't want to disappoint her?"

"She makes me feel so guilty about spending time here. So she's invited everyone I want to see and scheduled them in so that I miss all of my favourite parts of Christmas here. Grandpa and Grams are supposed to come on Boxing Day for dinner and presents. Aunt Rachel is supposed to be staying over until Christmas Day."

Emily nodded. Rachel was Haley's sister and Jack's favourite aunt. Unfortunately, she lived in Montana and Jack didn't get to see her and his cousins as much as he wanted. She knew how important it was for him to see her. "What about Christmas Day?" she asked gently.

Jack blew out a breath. "I don't want to have to choose between opening presents with my cousins and opening presents with Annie, Katie and Seth. I want to be here for presents with you guys, you guys are my family and Seth is still young enough that Christmas is always a surprise and even Annie still loves opening presents. They get so excited."

Emily could understand that. "Your mom doesn't live that far, Jack, I'm sure between me, your mom and your dad we can get you here late Christmas Eve and back in time for Boxing Day."

Jack nodded slowly.

"There's something else," Emily said knowingly.

"I just... I don't understand why she makes this so difficult. Before, when it was AJ's birthday or Seth's... there was never a problem. Even for Kate's recitals or soccer games... So why is this Christmas so difficult?"

Emily smiled grimly. "I wish I could give you an answer for that, honey."

"What did Dad do?" Jack asked.

Emily felt her breath catch. She hadn't prepared herself for any extended period of conversation about Haley with Jack.

"You know Seth asked if I'd be able to stay up with him to watch for Santa this year, just like every other year? I had to tell him I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it," Jack said, his voice almost tortured. "Do you know how hard it is to disappoint a five-year-old?"

She had some idea, but she didn't need to tell Jack that the disappointment he often felt when his father hadn't been able to make some of his events was the same disappointment she'd heard in the voices of her own children. And it tore at her heart every time. "He'll still stay up. And maybe you guys can make a new tradition instead. He's still a kid and he's pretty flexible on most things," Emily reassured him.

Jack sighed. "I just feel like this was easier before I had to make the choices."

For Jack, maybe but Emily knew she and Aaron hadn't always had a party in dealing with scheduling issues. There had never been an official agreement, mostly because there was no resentment or hatred between Haley and Aaron. Haley understood that his job was something she could never understand and Aaron understood that Haley was better off without him. There had been angry phone calls anyway, things that Emily certainly wished above all else she could fix. But Aaron had sworn in the beginning that he wasn't going to put Jack in the middle between his parents. And now it seemed that despite all of his hard work, Jack was going to be in the middle anyway.

"Jack, if you want your dad to step in he will," Emily said. "You can go back to the way things were before your birthday."

"I don't know," the sixteen-year-old admitted. "I understand why Dad thought this would be a good idea, but it's hard. I don't want to disappoint or hurt anyone."

Emily smiled wryly. "Sweetheart, I wish I could tell you that it would always work out. Unfortunately, someone is always going to be hurt or disappointed. But your brother and sisters understand that you have to spend time with your mom too. They understand you can't always be there."

"But Mom knows I have two families. She knows that I want to see Aunt Pen, Uncle Derek, Aunt Jenny, Uncle Spencer... And Eric seemed so excited about having dinner with all of the kids, you know? And the crackers," Jack explained.

"What do you want to do?"

Jack met her gaze. "I want to spend Christmas Eve with Aunt Rachel, open presents with my cousins, then come here, stay up with Seth until he falls asleep watching Rudolph and then wake up the next morning to open presents with everyone. I want to have dinner with our wacky family with Aunt Pen and Uncle Derek throwing innuendoes across each other at the dinner table and then, the next day, I can go back to Mom's and see Grandpa and Grams."

"Okay," Emily said. "Aaron!"

"Just putting Kate to bed," her husband called back. Sure enough, two minutes later Aaron came down the stairs. "What is it?"

"We're talking about Christmas," Emily filled him in. "We're having a few problems."

She smiled as he perched on the arm of the couch where she sat, his hand sifting through his hair even as his attention focused worriedly on his son. "What kind of problems?"


	16. Chapter 16

"Jack!"

Jack grinned at the uproar as he made his way around the house. Where his mother had opted for a more formal celebration of his high school graduation, he'd all but begged Emily to ensure their celebration was much more low-key. And he didn't think it could get more low-key than a backyard barbeque.

"Congratulations!" his Aunt Penelope said, coming up to wrap him tightly in her arms.

Jack grinned wider as he hugged her back. "It's just high school, Aunt Penny. I still have college to get through."

"Oh please," she shot back, slapping her 'nephew's' shoulder. "High school was the worst four years of my life."

"Baby Girl, you dropped out of high school."

Jack's grin was more mischievous as he met the eyes of his Uncle Derek. He shook the African-American's hand as Aunt Penelope released him. "Really?"

Aunt Penelope waved her hand dismissively. "I went underground to write Code. If I hadn't done that, I may never have ended up in the FBI. And, for the record, I dropped out of CalTech, not high school. And if Gabi ever hears a word of this, Jack Hotchner-"

"I know, Aunt Penny," he replied with an affectionate roll of his eyes as he moved away. Aunt Jen was next, relaxing against Emily's favourite outdoor lounge chair. He leaned down to kiss her cheek.

"There's our first high school graduate!" she said with a bright smile. "How does it feel?"

"I'm not sure just yet," he replied. "It's still a pretty new thing. How are you feeling? Should you be in the sun?"

Aunt Jen rubbed her bulging stomach. "Baby's kicking like crazy, but that's probably due to all of the excitement."

"He's not going to have it easy," Jack warned with a grin. 'He's going to be the little baby."

"I'm sure he'll be fine. Spence always was," Aunt Jen replied cheerfully. "Nate! Let Seth have a turn!"

"Can I get you anything? Lemonade? Water?" Jack offered.

Aunt Jen waved him off. "This is your party, I'll get Spence to help me if I need anything. So find your dad and get the girls out here. It's too beautiful for them to be inside."

"Sure thing," Jack agreed, heading inside.

"Jack!" Emily was in the kitchen wearing a bright smile. "How was lunch?"

"Good," Jack replied. While Emily had been a very good sounding board for the issues that had inevitably arisen between his parents, they had an unspoken agreement that the relationship was for emergencies only. "It was nice. Nan was there. And Gramps."

"I'm glad," Emily said with genuine gratitude. "Your father's upstairs trying to get Calleigh and Kate to gossip outside."

He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. "I'm just glad you haven't burned the kitchen down. I'm surprised Dad left you all alone in the kitchen."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Go. And for the record, your father is barbequing, so there is nothing dangerous about me in here."

"Sure," he replied, nodding seriously and skipping just out of reach of the towel she flicked at him. "Hey Gabs, Annie."

"Jack!"

He held his eyes out for his oldest sibling. AJ held a special place in his heart because she and he had found something he just hadn't seen in Kate, and Seth, for all intents and purposes, was still a baby. He held her tight. It had been a few weeks since he'd seen her. He'd holed himself up at his mother's while he studies for his finals. He hadn't even called her. And he missed her.

"Mom said the ceremony was boring," she said, leaning back while still hugging him.

"It was," he promised. "Get the volleyball and get outside. Pretend you love your family."

AJ sighed. "The boys kept poking their heads into our game," she whined.

He laughed and ruffled her hair. "Boys do that. Go and I'll play with you."

It really had been a long time since he'd spent time with his sister because both Gabi and AJ sprung up and all but raced each other out of the room. He grinned. He had a really good idea of how to remedy that.

He was full, but he was content. He sat flipping through the channels as his father finished tucking his siblings in bed and Emily was cleaning up the kitchen. She'd effectively banished him from the kitchen when he'd offered to help.

He looked up as his father sat down beside him. "Did Gabi stay?"

Aaron shook his head. "AJ's going to stay at Gabi's on Thursday to celebrate the end of school."

Jack nodded, then looked away.

"Is everything okay?" Aaron asked. "You've been off all day."

"Um..." Jack began, "I need to talk to you and Emily about something."

"Em? Jack needs a minute," Aaron called into the kitchen.

Once his stepmother had taken a seat right next to his father, their hands automatically found each other's in Emily's lap. They'd always done that though he hadn't noticed until he'd gotten older. They loved each other and they'd given nothing but love to him and his siblings. It was why he was about to ask them for a huge favour.

"Mom wants to move to New York."

Emily and Aaron exchanged a look. "New York?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah."

"Are you going to transfer to NYU instead?" Emily didn't pull any punches and she never had.

"I don't want to," he replied honestly. "I want to go to George Washington."

It had been a bone of contention between his parents, well, him and his mother. Haley wanted him to go to college in New York, but he'd always had his heart set on George Washington. He'd always liked the DC area, and his siblings were extremely important to him.

"Jack, you don't have to ask us if you want to live here," Emily said, basically reading his mind. "This is your home too and if you think you can handle the craziness of this place, we'll start making you basement room more like your own. We were thinking of renovating down there anyway."

It was the first time in a long time that Jack was glad both Emily and his father read behaviour for part of their careers. "You don't have to."

"Emily's right, this is your home too. If you need to stay here, if you want to stay here, then there's no reason to even ask," Aaron agreed.

"I'm saving for a car too," Jack revealed. "So getting to and from school won't be a problem."

"Jack, we already said 'yes'," Emily chuckled. "You're not a burden on us and we'd never consider you a problem."

"We'll help where we can," Aaron agreed. There was a pause as they exchanged a look. "We're proud of you Jack. Both of us."

"You're sure it's okay?"

"Of course we're sure," Aaron replied. "We'd love to have you here full time. AJ will think its some sort of early birthday present."

Jack bit his lip. "Do you think Uncle Derek and Uncle Dave will help me move my stuff?"

Aaron grinned. "Just tell us when you want to move in and they'll be there."


	17. Chapter 17

Jack Hotchner sighed for the hundredth time as his phone lit up and danced across his study carol. If it was Shannon again, he was going to get his father to file a restraining order. Or his step-mother. But the screen of his cell phone flashed with a completely different name.

"Hey Monkey." When there was no response, Jack began to get worried. "Gabi?"

"Jack."

The tears were obvious in her voice and, if the broken quality of said voice was any indication, they were probably still streaming down her face too. Jack felt his heart jump into his throat. "Gabi? Are you okay? Where are you? What's wrong?"

"He broke up with me."

Jack's heard slowed, but only slightly. The people his father called family were almost entirely made up of FBI agents. Jack knew it was ingrained in him to think the worst first as an automatic reflex. "Okay. Where are you Monkey?"

"Um... The parking lot?"

"Which parking lot, Gabs?" Her obvious emotional instability was the only thing holding his patience in check.

"The school."

Her school. He was already packing up his things, haphazardly throwing notes into his backpack. "Don't move, okay? I'm leaving now. Promise me, Monkey."

"Don't move. Got it," she sniffled.

Jack felt his heart clench as he hung up the phone before dialling a different number. Because Gabriella Garcia-Morgan was a proud fifteen-year-old girl. Her parents, Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia-Morgan and Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan, were terrifying people. And Derek Morgan was intensely protective of his little baby girl.

"What can I do for you, Junior Hotchner?"

It was still disconcerting to hear her automatically greet him with something different every time. "Hey, Aunt Penny."

"It's early, sweet cheeks. Shouldn't you still be at school?"

"I was studying in the library. Class was quick today. Um... but this isn't about me. Gabi called me. We're going for ice cream."

"Is everything okay with my baby?"

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "I promise I'll have her home by curfew."

"Of course you will," Aunt Penelope agreed. "With, at the very least, the full name and address of whoever hurt my baby."

She was terrifying when he knew she was angry but still managed to sound as cheery as ever. "Bye, Aunt Pen. And don't tell Uncle Derek, okay?"

"I won't tell Derek yet," she promised.

Jack sighed heavily, worry clouding his face as he pulled the keys out of his pocket. The car had been a gift from his grandparents when they'd heard he was staying with his father, going to George Washington University and saving up for his own car. It was to ease the stress of traveling between his mother in New York, his father in Virginia and his school in DC. It had come in handy for rescue mission too, rescue missions such as this one. Gabi didn't get herself into trouble often enough for him to be irritated with her. He couldn't be mad at Gabi anyway. She held a soft spot in his heart and had since he could remember. Despite being six years old and her best friend's older brother, Jack and Gabi had always been extremely close. There were days it creeped AJ out. Sometimes he deliberately teased her about it, just for fun. So he'd always save Gabi, no matter what.

She looked small and lonely sitting on the edge of the curb, brown hair falling in waves and hiding her face. But she looked up as he swing the car into a parking spot. He climbed out of the car, moving to drop down beside her. They didn't say anything. Jack simply wrapped his arm around her shoulder, adjusting when she curled into him instead. It was enough to start the tears again and her hand fisted in his t-shirt as he rubbed her back soothingly.

"I called your mom," he said quietly as the sobs subsided. "I told her we were going out for ice cream. She won't tell your dad."

"Banana split?" she asked, the tears still audible in her voice.

"Extra whipped cream, three cherries and no nuts," he promised.

"Because I'm allergic to nuts," she said, cracking a very small smile.

Jack nodded. "I haven't forgotten."

"You did once."

Jack rolled his eyes but indulged her. "It was once! I was ten and your parents were right there."

"And thank goodness they were."

"I have never forgotten since then. Scariest moment in my life. The last time I'd seen Dad and Emily that scared was the time AJ tripped down the stairs and broke her arm. I thought your father was going to kill me."

"Daddy loves you. He'd never kill you," Gabi replied. The only evidence that she wasn't the usually peppy Gabi was the way she still clung to his shirt.

"Gabi, there you are. I- Who the hell are you?"

Jack's eyes narrowed at the cruel tone of voice, allowing Gabi to scramble out of his arms. "Jack Hotchner. Who are you?"

"Richard Miller. Her boyfriend."

"Ex," Gabi spoke up as Jack stood. "Ex-boyfriend."

Richard glared and Jack carefully situated his body between Gabi's and Richard's, a habit he'd gotten into since the kids in the park had made fun of her for not being able to do the monkey bars by herself. She climbed over everything but had never been able to do the bars.

"Come on, Gabi. I didn't cheat!"

"Hope saw you! Rebecca saw you! AJ saw you!" Gabi yelled back.

"Gabs?" Jack asked, confused by the exchange.

"A Russian exchange student," Gabi answered the question she knew he was trying to ask.

Jack made a mental note to talk to AJ. The eldest of his siblings was as gifted as her mother with languages.

"And how dare you accuse me of cheating when you're out here getting cozy with the first guy you find!"

Jack immediately held up his hand. "Hold on, man. I don't like what you're implying."

"You don't? Don't like the idea that half of the school knows your girlfriend is a dirty easy whore?"

Jack's fist made contact with Richard's mouth before he had the chance to get a handle on his temper.

"Jack!" Gabi exclaimed in surprise and astonishment.

But Richard had already wound up and taken a swing at Jack. Jack was ready for it and caught the boy's fist before it made contact. Jack had taken up hand-to-hand combat as he'd grown up, something his father believed everyone should know. Pinning the younger man down wasn't all that difficult.

"I'm only going to say this once. You so much as come near Gabi again, if I hear you calling her names no woman should ever be called, I'm going to be the least of your worries, understood?" He tightened his hold when Richard tried to squirm away. "Understood?"

Richard nodded and Jack let go. "Get out of here."

It was only after he watched Richard rush out of sight that he realized his hands was stinging. He hissed as he looked at it. "Does Richard have braces?"

"Yeah," Gabi answered. "Oh my gosh, Jack!"

"It's nothing," Jack said.

"Nothing? Do you know how many different types of bacteria are in the human mouth?" she asked, grabbing his hand. Richard's braces had done good work of cutting up the skin.

Jack sighed. "You've been spending too much time with Uncle Spencer. And it's nothing that some soap and water won't fix."

"No way. I will not be responsible for your hand getting infected. We're going to have a talk about that too."

"Before or after the banana split?" Jack teased. "Let's go back to my dad's place. Emily keeps a first aid kit under the bathroom sink. You know how accident prone Adam is. And I know we have everything to make banana splits at home."

"And Hoodwinked."

Which told him exactly how bad this had affected her. Hoodwinked was only for the worst of days, for both Gabi and AJ. Jack had seen the movie too many times to count. "Yeah, Monkey. And Hoodwinked."

Emily Hotchner stepped through her front door, happy to drop her bag on her floor. She adored her job, loved that she could still work in the BAU. She hated that she was no longer working with her husband, but he seemed to find teaching almost as rewarding as his work with the BAU had been. And it wasn't like he'd completely removed himself from their work anyway. Still, she admitted to surprise at seeing the two occupants of the kitchen.

"Sit still! You're such a baby!"

Emily chuckled as Gabi held Jack's hand and applied Polysporin. When it came to fixing injuries, Jack had always been quite uncomfortable. "Hey guys."

Both looked up and greeted her in response.

"Is that a banana split?" Emily asked, raising her eyebrow.

Gabi blushed. "It is."

"Aunt Penny knows," Jack offered. "I called her."

"Everything okay?" Emily asked in concern. They were a family and families worried about each other. Gabi might as well have been blood with the amount of time she spent at the Hotchner home.

Gabi offered a small smile. "Nothing ice cream and Hoodwinked can't fix."

Emily wasn't one to pry for details. She'd learned long ago that getting anything out of Gabi or AJ was like pulling teeth unless they wanted to talk about it. "Are you two going to eat dinner?"

"I will," Jack agreed immediately. "When's AJ due home?"

"Soon."

"We're going downstairs," Jack said standing.

She nodded. "Try and think of a good story to tell your father about that hand while you're down there."

Jack grinned, coming over to kiss her cheek in greeting. "I was defending Monkey's honour."

It was a pretty good story and one Emily knew Aaron could easily understand. "I'll send AJ down when she gets here."

Hours later, Gabi emerged from the basement, surprised to find her father in the family room of the Hotchner home. "Daddy?"

"Hey Ellie."

Sometimes it was the little things that mattered. Her father's nickname for her still hit her hard. He was the only one who had ever called her 'Ellie'. She scooted around the couch to wrap her arms around him. "Hi Daddy."

"Is everything okay, Princess?"

She felt the tears come again as she buried her head in his chest. "It will be." She bit her lip as his hand rubbed her back.

"Let's get you home. Your mama wants to make sure you're okay," he said.

"Gabi? Oh, hey Uncle Derek."

"Hey Jack. Thanks for picking Ellie up."

She let her father go and turned to face Jack. He leaned against the doorway to the basement, his cut hand standing out against the black of his t-shirt. She hoped her father didn't see it.

"It's no problem," Jack promised with a wide grin.

Gabi closed her eyes briefly, hoping Jack wasn't about to tell her father anything about their afternoon. But Jack didn't seem to offer any extra information.

"I'm going to take her home," her father said, the tone of his voice resigned to the fact that anything Gabi may have said to Jack, any of the events of their afternoon, were safe with Jack.

"Sure thing," Jack replied with a curt nod.

Both men waited while Gabi gathered her things. Then, Gabi turned back to him, closing the distance between them to pop up on her toes and kiss his cheek. "Thanks Jack."

He grinned and pressed a kiss to her forehead that lingered. "Always, Monkey."


	18. Chapter 18

"Are you serious?"

Jack looked at the redhead beside him, arching an eyebrow. "I promised."

"You promised your sister's best friend that you would make her dinner on the night of our four month anniversary?"

Jack blinked. He's met Kelly Echeart in one of his classes at George Washington University and he'd been immediately attracted to her. Upon dating her, however, he'd been treated to a completely different side of her. And he hadn't liked it. And now she was harping on him about his extremely close relationship with Gabi.

"Are you serious?" he inquired.

"You don't think our anniversary is important?" Kelly replied. "What am I to you?"

"Kelly, it's four months. It's not exactly a milestone," Jack argued back.

"Not exactly a milestone? Are you going to say that about our six month anniversary?"

"Kel, you're overreacting," Jack said.

She raised her eyebrow. "Overreacting? You're blowing me off for another woman! How else am I supposed to react?"

"With grace? Come on. It's Gabi. What do you think we're going to do? Have hot sex on her parents' couch?"

"Have you thought about it?" Kelly accused.

"No!" Jack exclaimed. "I've known Gabi forever, Kelly. Why are you overreacting?"

"Because it's always Gabi this, Gabi that. What else am I supposed to think?" Kelly exclaimed.

"That she's one of my best friends. That's she's no threat. Why are we even having this conversation?" Jack said in exasperation.

"You're making us have this conversation. I had the day all planned out."

Jack sighed. Years ago he'd made a promise to not only Gabi, but to his little sister AJ. Family came first. He'd sworn to them, to his father, to his stepmother. Gabi came first. AJ came first. He had never broken a promise to Gabi. "I'm not going to break my promise to Gabi," he told her.

"Then we're done."

Jack stepped into his father's house with a heavy sigh. It wasn't how he'd wanted things to end with Kelly. He dropped his bag in the front hall. His sister was in the living room watching a movie with one of her friends. "Hey, Annie," he greeted.

AJ looked over. "You're home early."

"Yeah," he replied. "Dad home?"

"Not yet. Mom's in the kitchen with Kate," AJ replied. "They're doing math."

Jack shook his head affectionately. "Math isn't the end of the world AJ."

"Is to!" the fourteen-year-old replied. "So is science." She knew her brother was that kind of person.

"Jack!"

He grabbed his whirlwind of a younger sister as she impacted his stomach. "Hey Katie Bear."

"Mommy's making me do math!"

"I do math all the time," he told her, meeting Emily's eyes over Kate's head. He knew there was no way he could hide his confusion and angst from her. "Do you know when Dad's going to be home?"

"He said he'd be home for dinner," Emily replied. "Is everything okay?"

Jack shrugged. "How about we go downstairs and I'll help you with the math."

Emily smiled as she felt strong arms wrap around her stomach. "Jack's home. He was looking for you."

"Is everything okay?" Aaron asked, kissing his wife's cheek.

"I didn't want to pry," Emily replied. "He took Kate downstairs with her math homework."

"He does have an uncanny ability to make it interesting for her," Aaron agreed. "Should I wait?"

"If Kate's not done?" she asked. "Dinner's still more than half an hour away."

"I'll go talk to him," he replied, slipping his hand under her chin to press a kiss to her mouth. "Hello."

Emily's laughter followed him out of the kitchen. It wasn't the first time his hello had been usurped by something considered more important. He made his way into the basement, unsurprised to see Jack and Kate playing cards over the coffee table.

"Go fish!" Kate exclaimed triumphantly.

Aaron grinned. He'd been afraid at first that Jack would always be too old to want to spend time with his younger siblings because of the large age difference between them. He leaned against the staircase and watched as Jack scrutinized his cards. His oldest child blew out a breath.

"I think you've officially destroyed me, Katie Bear," he said folding his cards.

"I always win," the eleven-year-old responded primly.

Aaron smiled, well aware that Jack let her win. He was a good big brother like that. It was probably the reason Kate idolized him. "Tell me the only reason the two of you are playing Go Fish is because Kate's homework is done."

"Daddy!" Kate exclaimed, racing over to hug him.

"Hey Angel. You think you can go help your mom with dinner?" Aaron asked, pressing a kiss to his youngest daughter's head. "I need to talk to Jack."

"Okay!"

Aaron made his way over to the couch where Jack sat as Kate pounded up the stairs. Someday, he was going to teach his daughter that pounding wasn't necessary for her ascension up the stairs. "Emily said you wanted to talk to me?"

Jack nodded as he gathered the cards. "Kelly broke up with me today."

Now he understood why his son had been home early enough to help Kate with her homework. Lately, Jack had been squeaking home just in time for dinner. "I'm sorry."

Jack shrugged. "I don't know if I am."

That was telling. "Why did she break up with you?"

"Because I'm cooking dinner for Gabi on what was going to be my four month anniversary with Kelly," Jack replied. "And I wouldn't drop Gabi to spend the day with her."

"Why?"

Jack cocked his head to the side.

"Why wouldn't you postpone your cooking with Gabi?" Aaron clarified.

"Because I don't break promises to Gabi," Jack replied.

"And Kelly felt threatened by Gabi."

"That's what I don't understand," the younger man admitted. "Why would she be threatened by Gabi?"

Aaron blinked. "You tell me. Why would Kelly feel threatened by Gabi?" It didn't surprise him in the slightest. Gabi and Jack had always been close, almost closer than close. He was her protector, knew more about her than anyone else and Aaron knew the same held true for Jack. They'd formed a bond from childhood that couldn't be broken. It had proven time and time again.

"I don't know," Jack said in exasperation. "I don't understand. I was hoping you did."

Aaron debated in his head for a minute. "Jack, did you think about how close you two are? Women are threatened by other women. Gabi's a threat to your girlfriends so long as you choose her over your girlfriends."

Jack seemed utterly perplexed. "What?"

"Women are like that. Regardless of your real relationship with Gabi, when you're willing to simply put Gabi first, girlfriends are never going to like it," Aaron tried again.

"But it's Gabi! Gabi. Gabi's the least threatening person in my life."

"Jack, AJ is the least threatening person, specifically the least threatening female except maybe Emily or Kate."

"They're related to me," Jack said, wrinkling his nose in a way Aaron recognized even from when he was a child.

"That's my point," Aaron replied with a smile. "They're threatened by Gabi, by how close she is because they want to be."

"Did you ever have that problem? With Emily?" Jack asked after a moment.

"When Emily and I started dating we were at very different point in our lives. And I really didn't have any close female friends when I was in high school," Aaron replied.

"Gabi's important to me," Jack said, his voice still sounding baffled. "I don't..."

Aaron sighed, clapping his hand on his son's back. "Maybe someday you'll find a girl who understands that Gabi is extremely important to you. Some just aren't comfortable enough in themselves to trust in someone else."

And unfortunately that was all he could offer his son.


	19. Chapter 19

"Mommy?"

Emily looked up at sixteen-year-old AJ almost in alarm. Mommy was a name that was reserved almost solely for bad moments and when her children were ill. "Is everything okay, sweetheart?"

AJ moved slowly into the dining room where Emily had managed to spread almost all of her paperwork across the wooden surface of the table. "Can I talk to you?"

It was long past bedtime on a school night, but AJ looked so vulnerable and almost scared that Emily couldn't say no. "Of course, honey. What's wrong?"

"Not wrong, really..." AJ replied, taking a seat. "Just... Mommy, there's a boy."

The juxtaposition of her sixteen-year-old saying 'Mommy' and talking about a boy wasn't lost on her. "Okay..." This wasn't the first time AJ had talked about a boy. It had only been two summers ago her daughter had gotten involved with Cristofer Forrester, the eldest son of a man Emily had run in the political circles with when she was a child. And Emily had thrown a fit when she'd discovered they couldn't really be classified as only friends. Nevertheless, after a thorough fight with her daughter and a calming conversation with JJ and Penelope – Aaron would have probably burst an artery had he found out – Emily and AJ had been able to have a rational conversation about it. As such, Emily was still the parent more comfortable with her daughter dating than Aaron.

"This is... I don't know. This is different," AJ said.

Emily leaned back in her chair. "Different how?"

"Everything is different," AJ said in exasperation. "I just... I can't explain it."

Emily chuckled. "Yes you can. You're just nervous about it."

AJ was the daughter Emily was closest to, though the elder Hotchner felt it was due to her daughter's age and not much else. Emily and Aaron had raised their children to be honest, almost to a fault.

"I don't know what to do, Mom," AJ said with a sigh.

"Honey, you're talking in abstract circles. Come on. I'll make you some tea," Emily coaxed.

"The chocolate kind?" AJ asked, scrambling to follow her mother.

The elder brunette laughed. "On one condition," she proposed.

"Name it."

"How does he make you feel different?"

AJ hoisted herself up on the counter as Emily put the kettle on. "You know the butterflies?"

Emily grinned. Of course she knew about the butterflies. She still got them after sixteen years of marriage to her husband. "I do."

"Mom!" AJ exclaimed. "Gross!"

Her mother laughed. "What about the butterflies?"

"They're different," AJ replied. "They're... More butterfly-y. And it's all the time. When I think about him, when I see him..."

Emily grinned. "Oh honey." Her attention shifted as the kettle whistled. "Tell me about him."

AJ pulled two mugs from the cupboard above her. "His name is Mike. Well, Michael. Santoianni. He um... Mommy, he's one of Gabi's friends."

Emily didn't wince, didn't hesitate or pause in pouring the water into the mug with her tea bag, but her brain clicked. Her daughter really liked this boy and while Emily had absolutely no problem with her daughter dating an older boy – not only was it not AJ's first older boy, but Emily didn't recognize the name so there was an extremely slim chance his family was in her political circle – Aaron had a hard time absorbing the fact that AJ was starting to date, let alone dating someone older than herself. And Emily wasn't sure their own rather large age difference was going to be any help as a supporting argument.

"Mom?"

Emily hadn't realized she'd been silent. "Annie, you know I have absolutely no problem with you dating and I have absolutely no problem with age differences."

"So long as they're not a politician," AJ nodded. "Daddy's going to flip."

"Honey, are you dating Mike?" Emily stirred her tea slowly, absently dunking her tea bag as she stirred.

AJ sighed. "No. But Gabi says he likes me too."

"Are you going to ask him out?"

"I don't know," AJ replied, looking into her hot chocolate. "I'm not... I can't."

"Why not? You like him."

"It's not that easy!" AJ exclaimed. "He's older! And Gabi's friend! And he... Gabi's just being nice."

"By telling you Mike likes you? Sweetheart, you've known Gabi since the day you were born."

"What if he doesn't?" AJ asked. "What if Gabi's wrong?"

"Is that a big problem?"

"We hang out every day! He's part of our usual group of friends. It's going to make things so awkward."

Emily nodded, sipping at her tea and hissing when it was still much too warm. "And what if Gabi's right?"

"I don't know if the risk is worth it," the sixteen-year-old almost whispered.

"Oh, Annie." Emily knew she and Aaron were introverted people, sharing little and they had both grown up protecting themselves. She'd hoped it was something that they wouldn't pass on to their children. It seemed that they hadn't been so lucky. Emily made a mental note to talk to Aaron about it.

"Sometimes the risk is worth it, sweetheart," she told her daughter. "The reward can be worth it."

"Is that what happened with you and Daddy?"

Emily chuckled. "Your Daddy and I were in a different situation. We weren't in school and there were rules that said we couldn't date. It was a very big risk."

"But it paid off," AJ said.

"Of course it did," Emily agreed. "I love your father and there are days I'm not sure what I'd do without him."

"The bad days?"

"The bad days," Emily agreed with a smile. "Does Mike make the bad days better?"

AJ nodded. "And he can tell when it's a bad day."

Even Derek had once said that AJ was almost harder to read than her mother, so Emily knew what kind of admission that was. "I think the risk is well worth it," she said. "You have to put yourself out there, honey. And you're going to get hurt sometimes, but you're a strong girl and I think you can handle it."

AJ hugged her mother. "Thanks Mom."

"Always sweetheart," Emily replied, kissing her daughter's head. "Always."

"I'm going to take this upstairs, okay?" AJ asked, lifting her mug.

"So long as you remember to bring it down in the morning," Emily agreed.

"Goodnight, Mom."

"Goodnight, sweetheart." Emily watched her daughter leave the room, listening carefully for the squeak of the second-from-the-top stair. Then she smiled indulgently. "How much did you hear?"

Aaron stepped into the kitchen, not bothering to ask how she'd known he was there. She'd long ago explained some type of radar when it came to his presence. And he swore she had eyes in the back of her head. She caught things that her children did that he didn't see coming. "You're letting her date?"

"I'm letting her make her own decisions," Emily said patiently. AJ growing up had been a thorn in her father's side since it had hit him that his little baby girl was no longer six.

"She's sixteen!"

"Exactly, Aaron," she replied, still sitting calmly with her tea. "Which means in twenty-four months, less, she'll be going away to college and then what are you going to do?"

The ensuing silence spoke volumes and it made Emily grin. "I still don't have to like it."

"No," she agreed. "But you have to tolerate it."

"He's a year older than her."

Emily rolled her eyes. It was obvious he was grasping at straws. "Yeah, and my father was very not impressed with our much bigger age difference and we've been married for seventeen years."

"Emily-"

"Nuh uh, Mister Hotchner. If you can let your son date, you can let AJ date."

"Jack's older."

"Aaron, you're being irrational," Emily said, laughing. She stood. "Jack was seventeen when he brought his first girl home and the poor thing was utterly terrified. Annie is scared to date because she doesn't want anyone to get hurt."

Aaron sighed, wrapping his arms around her as she did the same. "She's still young."

"She's not going to marry the boy, Aaron. She's not even going to consider sleeping with him. This is a harmless part of her growing up." She put her hand over his mouth when he opened it to respond. "They're not even dating. You have nothing to worry about."

His mouth was a hard line as she pulled her hand away, but he didn't bother to argue.

"Good. Now let's go upstairs and go to bed. I've been working too long and there is blood spattered across the back of my eyelids. I need a snuggle."

His smile came out, his entire demeanour lighting at the possibility of time with his wife. "Then who am I to argue with a beautiful woman like you?"

"A silly, silly man," she replied, kissing him briefly. "And don't you forget it."

"I reserve the right to come back to the topic of AJ dating."

"I reserve the right to veto you bringing up AJ dating," she replied with a playful smile.

He rolled his eyes. "Bed, woman. I'm going to erase that blood from your eyelids."

She squealed and laughed as he swept her up in his arms. "It sounds heavenly."

The next day, Emily picked up an overly excited AJ at the Garcia-Morgan household. The sixteen-year-old all but tossed her backpack into the back seat before jumping in the front. Emily arched an eyebrow in question as her daughter turned to look at her.

AJ sighed happily. "He said yes."

Emily grinned as she pulled out of the driveway. The smile on AJ's face was going to be worth any fallout from Aaron. "Of course he did."

AJ's eyes were almost fearful as she turned to her mother again. "Don't tell Daddy."

Emily laughed.


	20. Chapter 20

"Hi Daddy."

Derek Morgan knew that tone of voice. She'd inherited it from her mother, no question about it. It meant that he'd done something very wrong. He searched his brain furitively as he slowly turned his desk chair to face the office door. His sixteen-year-old daughter stood there, a wide smile on her face. But the smile was extremely deceptive.

She was more than pissed off.

Gabriella Garcia-Morgan was angry.

And he had absolutely no idea what he'd done.

Derek swallowed. "He Ellie. How was school?"

Gabi shrugged. "Kyle dumped me."

Kyle was the first boy Gabi had brought home. By far not the first one she'd dated, but the first one she'd brought home. She'd been excited about it. This was the first relationship that had lasted longer than a couple of months.

"Did you want to talk about it?"

Gabi's smile grew. "Actually, Daddy, yes." And she plopped down into his wife's chair. "He told me why he dumped me."

Oh.

"Ellie-"

"He dumped me because, now hold on, let me get the words right… because my father threatened to shoot him after ensuring he'd never had children if he ever hurt me."

"Sweetheart-"

"And that was after he informed me that you had looked him up." Her voice was rising, her face controrting with the anger.

"I'm just looking after you," Derek finally interjected.

Gabi's eyebrow went up and Derek knew that his words had done nothing to soothe her anger or help his cause. "No, Dad, you weren't. You interfered."

"All I did was talk to the guy," Derek defended.

"No, you scared the hell out of him," Gabi snapped back.

"Gabriella! Language!"

Gabi ignored his admonishment. "An more than that, you scared him so bad that you screwed up my relationship. You stepped on my toes, you interfered in my life."

"To protect you."

"Well then you failed," Gabi replied. "Because guess what, Dad, I'm not a kid anymore! You can't 'step in' to 'protect' me."

"You're always going to be my baby girl, Ellie, and I'm always going to protect you," Derek answered, using the firm voice that told his children not to argue.

Gabi sat still for a moment before letting out a frustrated scream, even going as far as to stop her foot before storming out of the office.

Derek watched her go, leaning back in his chair. He'd done the right thing in talking to the boy. It was his job as a father to ensure his daughter wasn't going to get hurt. And he remembered himself as a teenager. That was the last thing he wanted for his little girl to go through. She was a beautiful, intelligent, witty young woman in his totally unbiased opinion, and if she was going to be treated like he'd admittedly treated a few – okay, more than a few – of his own past flings, he damned well wanted to help the young man realize the error of his ways.

Plus, it wasn't his fault the guy ran. If the guy really cared for his baby girl, he wouldn't have ended the relationship. It was exactly that kind of thing that he intended to protect her from. If the guy's life was more important than his daughter's happiness, then, really, he wasn't worth Gabi's time.

"Derek Morgan get down here!"

That was the moment Derek knew he was in a whole lot of trouble. This wouldn't be the first time he and Penelope had disagreed on their very differing parenting styles. It was that time of Gabi's life.

Penelope was in the kitchen. Regularly, he cooked because he was just better at it, but she'd been picking up some serious domestic slack as he tried to settle into his new BAU Unit Chief job.

"You talked to your daughter's boyfriend?" Penelope demanded. "And choose your words carefully, Derek."

But this time, he wasn't going to back down. This time, he'd done the right thing. "I did."

Silence fell.

"That's it?" she said after a few moments.

"Of course I talked to him, Pen. She brought him home, it was a serious relationship."

"She's sixteen, Derek," Penelope replied. "She's going to have serious relationships and for Pete's sake, she's going to get hurt."

Okay, so she had pegged all of his issues in one go, but that didn't make him wrong. "That doesn't mean I can't try and protect her."

Her arms fell from her hips, a small smile curling at the corners of her mouth. "Derek, she's old enough to make her own mistakes, especially here."

Derek shook his head. "I was a young kid once, too, Mama. I know the guys that are out there."

"You were one of them."

"Exactly my point," he replied.

"Derek," Penelope said, her voice oozing tolerance. "I understand, as a parent, the instinct to protect, and I know how hard it is to think that Gabi is actually growing up. She's my first baby too, but this is a natural course of life."

"Pen, I was merely making sure she and this boy were on the same page," Derek defended.

"It is not your place to step in," she replied slowly, enunciating every word carefully. "She's only a few years away from getting out of the house to go to school. This is her issue."

Derek's mouth tightened. Penelope was never going to see his side. "How angry is she?"

"She went to AJ's," Penelope replied, turning back to dinner. "My assumption is that she's staying the night."

He hid the tinge of surprise. She was beyond pissed off. She was right angry. His daughter, his baby girl, seriously thought he'd really screwed up. And now his wife was irritated with him too. But he was simply doing his fatherly duty! They were just over-reacting.

They'd get over it.

Derek was surprised to see Hotch and Jack sharing coffee, a newspaper and what looked like case files when he pulled up to the Hotchner home.

"Morning," he called out.

Hotch waved his hand in getting. Jack echoed the movement.

"Coffee?" the once-Unit Chief called.

"Sure," Derek called back. He was in no hurry to be ignored by his daughter on the car ride home.

Jack and Hotch exchanged a look. It was Jack whose shoulders slumped.

"If I'm not back in ten minutes, send a rescue party," Jack requested.

Derek raised an eyebrow in question.

"We've been kicked out," Hotch explained. "By my wife, your daughter and my eldest daughter."

Well that explained why Jack was included and not Seth. It was Saturday, and though Jack no longer lived with his father and stepmother, he always came by for breakfast on Saturday. He was also Gabi's closest guy friend. Assuming they were kicked out of the house for defending Derek's position, Jack's over-protective streak would definitely put him on Gabi's bad side. Still, he had to check.

"What did you do?" Derek asked.

"Defended you," Hotch confirmed.

Derek shook his head. Okay, Gabi was furious. He leaned against the porch railing.

"I'd have done the same thing," Hotch offered. "The results would probably be the same."

It made the African-American feel better, that he wasn't the only one. "Em would yell at you?"

"Of course," Hotch replied. "As she often tells me, with my overprotective streak, the girls have to stick together." He paused. "I think they just want to make sure it doesn't result in trust issues."

Derek hadn't considered that. Of course, he didn't have Emily's past of trust issues. Neither did Penelope.

"Emily is just cautious," Hotch spoke up. "I don't actually believe that wanted to protect our children is going to result in hyper-protective adults."

That was what made Hotch and Emily work. Emily's past trust issues were well-known, most especially by her husband. If he was willing to give Emily the chance to make sure that the girls, his girls, had someone to go when they thought Daddy was being unfair, Hotch was going to let her do it.

"She's going to go through all of this to Seth in a few years because he's her baby boy. I'll get my turn to play her role."

Derek chuckled. When it passed, he met the eyes of the man who had taught him everything he knew. "They're really growing up aren't they?"

Hotch sighed as Jack finally returned passing, on the message that the pow-wow was over and breakfast was started, as he handed Derek the mug. Then Jack returned inside.

"Annie's in high school," Hotch said. "Katie's set to go in September."

Derek sipped his perfectly made coffee – he'd have to thank Emily – understanding exactly what Hotch was saying. Gabi's first day of high school had been an incredibly shock. He was actually glad he didn't have a second daughter. "They really are growing up."

"Is Gabi looking at colleges and universities?" Hotch asked.

Derek actually winced. "I'm not sure I want to know."

Hotch smiled, standing. He clapped a hand on the back of his long-term friend. "The only thing we can do is believe we've raised smart girls that know how to spot bad people, who trust in themselves and their feelings and trust in who they are. I can tell you, as much as I'll deny it when Annie's going through it, if only to justify my own actions, Gabi is that kind of smart, practical woman. She knows who she is and believes in herself. She's going to be fine."

Then he pushed the front door open. "Breakfast?"


	21. Chapter 21

Lazy Saturday mornings didn't happen often in the Hotchner home. It was a rare day when Emily and Aaron could wake up and just have some time to themselves, but with AJ on a road trip with Gabi for two weeks, Kate at an overnight vocal camp and Seth spending a week with his grandparents, much to both Emily and Aaron's surprise, Aaron woke slowly on Saturday morning, blinking bleary eyes open. From the looks of things, Emily had been awake longer than he had, sitting cross-legged beside him. An experimental shift told him she was using his back as a table for whatever had her complete focus. His slight shift had her glancing up at him.

"'Morning," she murmured, eyes going back to whatever she was doing.

Another experimental shift told him it was the newspaper. "Internal alarm still working?"

"Like a charm," she said with a wry smile, her eyes darkening as they always did at his husky morning voice. "I did manage to coax myself back to sleep for a couple of hours."

Their alarm clock said it was just after nine-thirty. Since their usual wake-up time was somewhere between six and seven, Aaron believed her. He folded his arms under the pillow his head rested on. "Anything interesting?"

"Mmhmm. The FBI caught a serial killer in Missouri." Her lips twisted in amusement.

"Oh?" he asked drowsily, his eyes floating closed again.

"Derek's quoted. You can tell which lines are JJ's."

"She's still the best," Aaron agreed. He heard the paper crumple as she folded it and flopped onto her stomach beside him.

"She has a notebook of press lines."

He cracked an eye open to look at her. "Really?"

Emily hummed her agreement. "I've seen it."

"I'm not sure if I'm impressed or if that just goes to prove she's worked in the BAU for too long," he said, his eyes closing again. Then they flew open. "Wait a minute..."

She was already grinning. "It's almost ten and we haven't heard from any children?"

His smile was slow and lazy as he regarded her. "A quiet house..."

"For another eight days," she said. "What on earth are we going to do with all of our spare time?"

"We should play hookie, honey," he replied, tugging on her arm as he twisted to his back.

She knew what that meant and shifted so her upper body rested on his. "It's Saturday."

"All week. Let's go away."

She shifted again, moving to straddle him, sitting back on his thighs. "We can't go to the summer house," she pointed out. "My parents have Seth there."

He hummed his agreement. "Virginia Beach."

She laughed slightly. "That's become our vacation spot," Emily pointed out. "Every vacation we take we go there."

"You like the boardwalk and we have that restaurant we love," he listed. "Are you trying to tell me we're stuck in a rut?"

"Of course not," she replied with a chuckle. "I do like the boardwalk. And the beach."

"And I like you in a bathing suit," he said, grinning lasciviously.

She smiled. "How do you do that so easily?" she asked quietly.

"Do what?"

"Make me feel like the prettiest girl in the room," she replied, leaning down to kiss him sweetly.

"It's easy when you are the prettiest girl in the room. The most beautiful woman too."

She was grinning wide, the smile that still managed to melt his heart without really trying. "You're too kind."

"Emily, have I ever lied to you?"

"No," she replied. "Not that I know of."

"And I wouldn't start now. You're always the prettiest girl in the room."

She kissed him slowly, enjoying the ability to do so without worrying about interruptions from their children. Sometimes she missed the time before AJ had graced them with her presence. She loved her children and always would, but there was something to be said for time alone with her husband. "Cook me breakfast?" she asked, pulling away breathlessly.

"I can do that," he agreed easily, stroking her hair back from her face.

When she came downstairs from her shower, she smelled like vanilla and he took a deep breath as her arms wrapped around his waist and pressed her lips to the soft skin behind his ear. After squeezing his stomach slightly, she moved to hoist herself up on the counter. He looked over at her and then looked again at the small cotton shorts and cotton tank. Summer made their house warm.

He found himself flipping off the stove where he was cooking to step in front of her. Her knees parted as his hands rested on the outside of her thighs. "I have a proposal for you, Mrs. Hotchner."

"Oh?" Emily answered, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"We take full advantage of our childless home."

The slow kiss on the side of her neck left her with absolutely no way to miss his intent. Her leg came up around his hip to pull her tighter to him. "To do what, Mister Hotchner?"

His hands slid under her tank top. "If I have to tell you, I'm losing my touch."

"You're not," she assured him as her breath hitched.

"Good."


	22. Chapter 22

"Anna-Joy Hotchner, freeze and put that cinnamon down this instant."

AJ did freeze and let her eyes fall closed. Damnit. Caught. "Hi Dad."

"What are you doing up, young lady? The deal was you start choosing your bedtime once you graduate," Aaron said, coming fully into the kitchen. Emily had woken with nightmares and he'd been on his way down to fix her a cup of tea or warm milk when he'd seen the small counter light on in the kitchen.

AJ sighed. "I know, and I'm sorry. I'm working on a paper and I had this inspiration and I couldn't let it pass and then because I was up I got hungry, so I thought I'd come downstairs and fix myself a snack and then I could just re-brush my teeth and go to bed. I promise I didn't actually mean to break the rules, but it's my English paper and you know how much I hate English and-"

"Annie, enough," Aaron said with a chuckle, reaching above his daughter's head to pull a mug out of the cupboard above her. "We made the bedtime rule to make sure you didn't become your mother and I."

"Oh?" AJ took that as tacit permission and went back to sprinkling cinnamon over her apples. It was a snack her mother ate like candy and slightly healthier too. People often looked at her funny when she brought it to school to eat during free period, but AJ didn't much care. No one else in her family ate it, with the exception of Jack. Kate was shockingly allergic to cinnamon and Seth hated apples.

Aaron smiled wryly as he turned on the water. "We were hoping you'd wait until college to train yourself how to pull all-nighters."

"You know college is like, four months away, right, Dad?"

Aaron sighed. "Don't remind me."

"Hey, it's not like I'm going to be gone forever," AJ laughed, boosting herself up on the counter.

Her father smiled softly. "No, but yesterday was your first day of first grade."

"I remember that," AJ nodded, tossing a piece of apple into her mouth. "Mom almost cried."

"You're your mother's first baby," Aaron replied, dropping a dry tea bag into the mug. "And though she considered Jack as close as you, Kate and Seth, he didn't leave home to go to school."

"But you're perfectly calm. You've always been more protective than Mom. And, Daddy..." She leaned over conspiratorially. "There are going to be college boys there."

He pressed his lips into a straight line. "I'm trying not to think about it. Especially if any of them are anything like your Uncle Derek."

AJ laughed. "I can hold my own."

"I know you can," Aaron said, kissing her forehead. "I love you."

"Love you too, Daddy."

"And I'm proud of you."

AJ shot her father a look. She'd only meant to tease him, and it was 3am. "Okay..."

"Really, Annie. You're going to college in four months. You were a baby yesterday."

"I'm not a baby anymore," AJ said, throwing a piece of apple at him with a pout.

He threw it back at her with a disapproving look. "You're certainly acting like it. You used to throw your food on the floor when you were in a high chair."

"Did I really?"

"Your mother has a picture of you covered in food on her desk," he answered, grabbing the kettle and going about making Emily's tea. "You've grown up a bit since then."

"Only a bit," AJ said, holding up her thumb and index finger.

"Stay that way."

AJ rolled her eyes. "I can't be a kid forever."

His smile was reminiscent, sad, and paternal all at the same time. "You aren't a kid, Annie. You're almost an adult."

AJ was silent for a minute, looking down at her apples. As much as she teased her parents that she was growing up, it was a terrifying prospect. She wasn't used to being on her own and while she knew home would always be there, it was still scary to be leaving home. "What if I don't make it?"

"Don't make what?"

"What if... what if I fail all of my courses? What if I don't do well? What if... What if they kick me out?"

"They won't kick you out, AJ. You're too smart for that." The fact that Emily's parents still contributed to Yale was a different story entirely.

"But what if I'm not?"

"Sweetheart, you are a beautiful and intelligent young woman. You have your mother's drive and ambition and one day, you're going to find something that grips you like the BAU did your mother and I and you're going to dedicate the entirety of your life to that thing. And your mother and I will be there every step of the way, taking embarrassing pictures and watching every minute of it," he said, smoothing her hair back from her face. "You have nothing to worry your pretty little head about."

AJ smiled. "Thanks Daddy." She kissed his cheek as she hopped off the counter, taking her bowl of apples with her.

"Don't forget to bring that bowl down in the morning!"

AJ knew when she rolled her eyes, her father was aware she was doing it. "I promise. Night Dad!"

"Night, honey."


	23. Chapter 23

Aaron Hotchner sat happily cleaning his Sig Sauer at his coffee table, Jack nearby flipping through one of his folders from his work as a parole officer. Seth was playing video games in front of the television, but Seth was really too young to have any effect on the young man coming to pick up his eldest daughter for her senior prom.

"Aaron, you put that thing away by the time Mike gets here, hear me? And Jack, don't think I don't know exactly what's in those files."

He looked up with innocent eyes at his wife, trying not to laugh as Jack unconsciously mirrored his look. It was times like this he discovered Emily was right and he and Jack were like identical twins.

Emily eyed the two eldest Hotchners. "I'm serious. This is important to Annie and while I know the two of you are getting an absolute kick out of this, Annie's about to have a panic attack. Aaron, that needs to be put away by the time Mike gets here."

Aaron knew Emily had already met his eldest daughter's date. Michael Santorianni had no criminal record, not even a speeding ticket, and he'd had Garcia look the kid up. But what bothered him was that Mike was a year older than AJ, one of Gabi's friends. He knew Emily wasn't against age differences, especially if their own still-strong marriage was any indication. Sometimes he wondered if AJ was supposed to take after his wife. Emily had tried to explain to him that she saw how much Mike adored AJ and that he had to go easy on the boy. He rolled his eyes at his son as he heard Emily's feet ascend the stairs.

"I saw that, Aaron Hotchner."

Emily knocked on AJ's door softly before pushing it open.

"Is he still cleaning his gun?" AJ asked from her vanity. Gabi was behind her, curling her black hair into elegant ringlets. Gabi had been blessed with her mother's creativity tempered by Derek's slick style so AJ had absolutely no problem passing her beauty reigns over to her best friend.

"Yes," Emily replied with an apologetic smile.

AJ's face fell. "He can't ruin this Mom."

This time, Emily tried for a more encouraging smile. "I know. He won't."

"You don't know that."

Emily sighed. It was another thing that AJ had managed to inherit from her mother. Insecurity was normal, but AJ was extra careful when it came to matters of the heart, much like Emily had been up until the attack that had landed her in the hospital, and eventually in her husband's arms.

"Come on, Annie. Now's not the time to be pessimistic," Gabi scolded, letting another elegant curl tumble from the iron. "You've been dating the guy a year. If he's going to balk at your father's gun, he's not worth it. You guys must have talked about your family."

"It's Daddy, Gabi," AJ responded, almost whining. "No one but Mama knows what's going on in his head."

"And I've warned him to try and be good," Emily promised. AJ didn't need to know she was going to have a serious chat with Aaron when AJ was safely out the door. Aaron and Jack, the little bugger. They encouraged each other and more often than not, wrapped Alex up in it. And yet, Emily and the girls managed to win almost every argument when it came to their own well being.

"And Jack?" AJ asked. "Is he going to disappear in the next…." She checked her alarm clock in the mirror and her eyes widened. "Twenty minutes! Gabi, we only have twenty minutes!"

"Chill," Gabi responded calmly. "It's an unwritten rule that we have to be fashionably late."

"I can't be late! I can't leave Mike down there with Daddy and Jack! And Seth! They've probably trained Seth!"

"Anna-Joy, breathe," Emily said, stepping over to her daughter. Gabi moved aside to let Emily rest her hands on AJ's shoulders. "As soon as that door rings, I will be downstairs with all of the males of this family."

Gabi's mouth split into a massive grin reminiscent of Derek's plotting face. "And you know the only person in this whole family they're all terrified of is Aunt Em."

Emily felt her daughter's shoulders raise and lower in a deep breath. "I'm scared, Mama."

"About what, honey?" Emily had wondered when it would come to this. A year was a long time to be with the same guy at AJ's age and this was the only guy that hadn't balked when AJ had told him both of her parents were FBI agents. If tonight went well for all of them, she intended to invite Mike to their next family night activity. Assuming Aaron and Jack could behave themselves.

"This."

"AJ, you're seventeen. You have all the time in the world," Gabi interjected from where she'd plunked herself down on AJ's bed.

Emily sighed. Gabi had Penelope's understanding of how to go about life. AJ was much more cautious than Gabi, a young woman who had already broken many-a-heart in her day. "Do you like Mike, honey?"

AJ nodded her head. "A lot."

Emily watched Gabi make a strategic exit, all dressed and ready to go and smiled. This was something Gabi knew was mother-daughter. Emily was sure the older girl had taken many opportunities to try and convince AJ everything was going to be okay. "So which part are you afraid of? The prom, or afterwards?"

AJ actually blushed. "I have a curfew."

"You do," Emily agreed. "But I was a teenager once too."

"How can you look so calm about this?" AJ asked in exasperation. She'd expected her mother to be taken-aback by the idea that AJ was thinking about what happened after the prom. But she also knew arguably the only person who had a better poker face than her mother was Uncle Spencer or her father. Nevertheless, it still took her by surprise.

Emily chuckled, well aware of what was going on in her daughter's mind. Emily and Aaron had always encouraged their children not to hide things from the people that loved them and though Seth had developed the ability to compartmentalize like his mother and Kate had managed to create a wall as thick as Aaron's could be, her children would always be an open book to Emily. AJ happened to be the easiest child to read because she, quite simply, didn't try to hide her emotions with her parents. "It happens to everyone," she tried to reassure the seventeen-year-old. "Would you like an extended curfew?"

AJ closed her eyes, her head tilting forward, soft curls falling around her face. "I don't know."

Emily tugged her daughter over to the bed and sat down beside her. "What don't you know about? We've had the sex talk before."

AJ winced. "Mama!"

Emily chuckled before turning serious and cupping her daughter's cheeks in her hands. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do," she told the girl seriously. "And if Mike really likes you back, he won't push anything."

"And if I'm ready?" AJ asked.

The abject fear and nervousness in her daughter told Emily AJ probably wasn't ready, but things could always change in the heat of a moment. Emily could remember her first time with Aaron and the Thanksgiving gala that had preceded it. She knew better than anyone the heat a controlled person could have and how easy it was to give into it. "Then you be careful," Emily replied. "You're a smart young woman, AJ."

"I want it to be special."

"Of course you do," Emily agreed. "Every girl wants her first time to be special."

"Prom is clichéd."

"Then tell him that. Mike seems like a great guy, honey. I think he'll understand."

"Will he?" AJ asked, nervousness in every line of her body. More often than not, she didn't ask her parents to profile anyone, well aware that they did it anyway. It was a long-established rule that any profiling secrets were shared between the parents alone unless there was a danger to the kids or they explicitly asked. AJ had never asked her parents to share. Ever.

"Are you sure you want to know what I think?" Emily asked carefully. It was cheating, asking Emily or Aaron to profile anyone, and it was one of the reasons the kids had shied away from it.

AJ nodded.

"I think he is fascinated by you," Emily answered softly, tucking a curl behind her daughter's ear. "I think he'll respect whatever you want because he adores you. You can see it when you see the two of you together. You remind me of me and your father."

"Mama," AJ said, wrinkling her nose. "You and Daddy in the context of this conversation is just gross."

Emily chuckled. "You think your father and I have only had sex three times? You and your brother and sister?"

"Right now, that's the dream world I like to live in," AJ responded seriously. Nevertheless, some of the tension leaked out of her shoulders. AJ was well aware of the love that went back and forth between her parents and it was definitely the reason they were so strong.

"Then who am I to burst your bubble," Emily asked laughter still in her voice. The sound of the doorbell ringing downstairs had AJ wincing and broke their mother daughter moment. "I'll go down and make sure they're not hurting anyone."

"AJ managed a smile, nerves obvious.

Emily kissed her head as she stood. "I'll send Gabi back up to finish.

AJ grabbed her mother's hand before she could leave. "Thanks, Mama," she said sincerely. "You're the best."

Meanwhile, Jack hand answered the door, admitting the young man who stood awkwardly in the doorway. Aaron grinned. He started the rather quick process of putting his gun back together. He heard Mike's voice.

"I'm here to pick up AJ."

He smiled to himself as Jack let him in, leading the way to the living room.

"Dad, AJ's boyfriend's here."

Aaron looked up, just securing the clip and double checking the safety, as Jack went back to his files and stood. "Michael."

"Mr Hotchner. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

By the way the kid swallowed, Aaron would bet it really wasn't, but he could see he was already terrifying the kid, so he didn't want to push it. So he put his gun down on the nearby table. "How are you?"

"Fine, sir."

Aaron nodded slowly. "I'm glad to hear it."

"Mike!"

Aaron and Jack exchanged a grin as Mike seemed to relax much more as Emily came down the stairs. "Hi, Mrs Hotchner."

Emily shot a look to Jack who returned it innocently, then to Aaron, who vaguely motioned to his gun on the nearby side table. Seth was still absorbed in the video game he'd been playing for the last hour. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Mike replied, much more comfortable around his girlfriend's mother than her father.

"Nobody's threatened anybody yet," Gabi's voice sounded from the hallway to the kitchen. She came into the living room with two glasses of water. She took a seat beside Jack and ignored Emily's raised eyebrow.

Emily tried to shrug off the telling gesture. Gabi and Jack had always been close, ever since Gabi was old enough to talk, it just surprised the profiler that Gabi had chosen to sit beside Jack. Her father, Emily's best male friend Derek Morgan, would have probably been thrilled.

"Seth, watch behind you," Gabi said nonchalantly, watching the video game.

Emily narrowed her eyes at the young woman she considered her niece. "No date?"

Gabi wrinkled her nose. "Are you kidding me?"

Emily rolled her eyes. Gabi was one of the oddest girls she knew and took after her father in so many ways. Her mother too, now that Emily thought about it. "AJ's upstairs."

"Got it."

Emily just about jolted when Gabi absently used Jack's thigh to push herself up and Jack jumped almost violently. He did it again when Gabi moved around the couch and patted his shoulder.

"Someday, Jack, you'll beat Seth. Then maybe you won't be such a pansy."

"Cute, Morgan."

"Hmm, I am, aren't I?"

Emily raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Her interrogation of Jack would have to wait. She rested an encouraging hand on the young man's shoulder. "Come on, sit down."

"So Mike," Aaron began as Emily took a seat beside him, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "How long have you been dating Annie?"

Mike anxiously seated himself in another chair. "Almost two years, sir," Mike said, voice strong even if his body language was not.

"Daddy, you're scaring him."

Aaron turned to deny his daughter's words, but his own caught in his throat. It was something to see his baby girl walking down the stairs all dressed up for the prom. She was the spitting image of Emily, from the dark eyes and dark hair to the way she carried herself. He squeezed Emily's shoulder.

AJ stood awkwardly at the bottom of the stairs, her own nerves starting to show. "So?" She almost rolled her eyes as Mike took his time to get to her, but the look in his eyes made her blush. He took her hand, tugging on it to spin her around. She didn't see her parents stand.

"Anna-Joy Hotchner, you are something."

A smile blossomed over AJ's face. "Something good, I hope," she replied, most of her nerves gone.

"I'm the luckiest guy in the world."

AJ smiled, ducking her head shyly and playing with the hem of her skirt. The dress was pink, strapless and fell to just above her knees. It had taken her ages to find it, trying on dress after dress with her mother and Gabi until she'd found one that hugged her in all the right places while staying true to her generally shy-bordering-on-prudish nature.

"Damn right you are," Gabi spoke up. "Now pictures. I promised Mama and Dad we'd get some. They're adopting you since their own daughter decided to forgo a man tonight. I think Mama was more upset than Dad."

Half an hour later, pictures taken and hugs exchanged, Emily stood in the front door, Aaron's arm around her waist as she waved AJ off to her first prom. "See?" she asked her husband. "That wasn't so bad."

"That's my baby girl he's taking to a prom," Aaron said, almost petulantly. "Do you know what happens after proms?"

Emily rolled her eyes as she tugged him back into the house. "I don't think AJ's really ready for that, so there's nothing you need to worry about. They'll both be home by curfew."

He kissed her temple. "Gabi's staying?"

"Pen and I were joking about trading kids for the night, but then Jack came home and Seth didn't want to go over anymore. I offered to let Chris stay here, but Pen didn't want to have both of her children under our care."

"And Kate?"

"Calleigh's," Emily responded, leading the way into the kitchen.

Aaron wrapped his arms around her waist. "That means all of our kids are occupied for the night with Jack taking Seth out to the movies." He started pressing kisses to her neck, brushing her hair out of the way.

Emily chuckled. Over seventeen years of marriage and his libido hadn't diminished. She wasn't complaining. She loved her husband and always had. It was harder to resist him than it was to give into him. She looked at him with a saucy smile. "What did you have in mind?"


	24. Chapter 24

AJ's first day of school had nothing on moving her into the dormitories of Yale University. It had been a toss-up between Yale and Dartmouth but AJ had not only preferred Yale on the whole, but it was closer to home than Dartmouth. And if Emily was seriously honest with herself, she preferred her first born closer to home. They'd been spoiled with Jack going to George Washington and they all knew it. Now, Emily's chest was growing tight as she watched her daughter's things be unloaded into a Yale dorm. AJ stood beside her, clutching her backpack. Emily knew what was in that bag. Despite AJ's foray into adulthood, her ratty puppy travelled everywhere with her. AJ glanced over and Emily saw her roll her eyes.

"Everything's going to be fine," she said.

Emily looked over at Aaron as her husband's eyebrow went up. Sometimes she wondered if her children remembered that reading behaviour had been one of her absolute favourite parts of her life. And it wasn't the first time she'd exploited that particular talent when it came to their children. "Of course it will," the mother agreed.

AJ shot her mother a glare. "You're humouring me," she accused.

"Of course not, sweetheart," Aaron jumped in as he loaded another young man up with AJ's things. "We're trying to figure out whether you're trying to convince us or yourself."

Emily rolled her eyes. Aaron could get away with so many things with AJ and calling her out had always been one of those things he'd been able to get away with, teenaged-attitude free. Emily had yet to be that lucky.

AJ mirrored her mother's eye roll, though adjusted her tight grip on her backpack. "I'm eighteen, exactly the age to leave the house."

Emily couldn't help her snort of amusement. "Honey, need I remind you Jack is twenty-six?"

"Jack's a different story," AJ said, waving her hand dismissively. "He'll move out soon, probably up to MIT so he can 'protect' Gabi." The words came complete with air quotes.

"You think so?" Emily asked, managing to keep a straight face. She was surprised that her daughter caught the underlying connection between her brother and her best friend.

AJ rolled her eyes. "They remind me of Aunt Pen and Uncle Derek."

This time Emily did start, looking at her daughter with surprised eyes.

AJ grinned and snorted in amusement. "She denies it, but I know it. And Jack would have asked her out a year ago if he wasn't absolutely petrified about what Dad and Uncle Derek would do if things didn't work out."

"Are you sure you want to go into business?" Aaron asked his daughter, laughter obvious in his voice.

"I'm not going into the FBI, Dad," AJ said, the tone of her voice implying that this was an old conversation.

"Everything's moved in."

Emily watched AJ smile at the young man who approached and made sure to wrap her arm around Aaron as he stepped forward, pressing the keyless remote for the car.

"Thanks," AJ said softly.

He paused, then held out a hand. "Kenneth. Ken."

"AJ," she responded, taking his hand.

"Short for?" he asked, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"Um... Anna-Joy," she replied, sounding surprised at the question.

"Kenny! Come on, man. Stop flirting!"

Emily bit her lip against amusement as she watched the young man pull out his cell phone. She gripped her husband's arm tightly as she watched AJ shyly type her number into the phone, blushing profusely all the whole. Her little girl was starting college and it looked like she wasn't doing it half way.

Aaron groaned as the phone rang, his eyes reluctantly dragging open to look at the clock. 3am. Who the hell was calling at 3am?

"Good Lord, we've both been out of the BAU for years. These phone calls were supposed to stop," Emily growled from beside him, curling into his side.

"Hello?"

"Daddy?"

Aaron sat up quickly, dislodging Emily who flopped back onto the bed with an indignant squeak. "Princess, what happened? What's wrong?"

Emily sat up beside him, immediately alert.

AJ sniffled. "I want to come home."

Aaron was already pushing the covers off of his legs. "I can be there in five hours, sweetheart, hang in there."

Emily's hand both surprised him and stopped him. She held out her hand for the phone. He handed it over slowly. "Annie, honey?"

He still went about pulling track pants on and digging through his drawers for a t-shirt.

"Okay, okay. Slow down," Emily soothed. She waved him back to the bed as he pulled out a pair of socks. "Sweetheart, you've been there less than twenty-four hours. You can do this honey."

Aaron pulled on his socks and went to the closet for a sweatshirt.

"You're going to make new friends at Yale, Annie. Yes you are, you're a beautiful, intelligent, witty girl, but friends don't just appear over night," Emily said into the phone.

Aaron recognized the tone of Emily's voice well. It was the mothering tone that warmed his chest. She was such a fantastic mother and she was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, even sleep dishevelled. He pulled the sweatshirt over her head.

"Annie, it's been one day," Emily repeated. "Tomorrow you're going to start orientation and in two weeks you're going to forget you even have a family because you will be having so much fun. And before you know it, it'll be Thanksgiving and Jack will be waiting outside your dorm after picking up Gabi from MIT."

Aaron watched a smile spread across Emily's face. He recognized the smile too.

"Yes, sweetheart, I'll tell him. Goodnight. I'll call you tomorrow. I love you too," she looked up at him as she hung up the phone. "Crisis averted, Captain Dad."

"Crisis averted?"

"Come back to bed, Aaron. Your daughter is fine and she says she loves you."

"Did you hear her, Emily? She's miserable," Aaron argued.

"She's an eighteen-year-old girl, facing upwards of a month away from home, the longest she has ever been away from her family. It's going to be a transition."

"She wants to come home."

He reluctantly sat on the bed where she patted the mattress. She straddled his lap, slipping her hands under both of his t-shirt and sweatshirt at the same time. "Did you know she considered George Washington?" she said, her voice almost clinical.

"Why didn't she go to GW? Jack loved it," Aaron said.

"Because I talked her out of it," she answered.

"Well why did you do that?" Aaron asked. "She could still be living at home."

"Because she didn't really want to go to GW," Emily answered. "She wanted Daddy's Dartmouth or Mommy's Yale. She wanted GW because it was close and that was it. I wasn't going to let her give up something like Yale or Dartmouth when I knew that was what she really wanted."

"I thought we weren't going to try and influence our children on what college to choose," he told her.

"Mmhmm, but this had nothing to do with influencing and everything to do with understanding our daughter," Emily replied, shifting again.

Then her thumbs were digging into the back of his neck and he had to find his brain power again. "Understanding our daughter? You're sending her away."

"She's eighteen," Emily replied with a laugh.

"She's still my baby girl."

"And she will always be your baby girl, Aaron, but she's also growing up. She's going to be fine at college. You can't go racing off every time she scrapes her knee," she replied, running her hands down his spine.

He leaned back, settling against the pillows and pulling her over him.

She hummed in response. "Normally, I find your saviour complex incredibly attractive."

"Normally?" he asked, kissing her forehead, down her temple and cheek.

"Not when you apply it to the irrationality of your children," she replied, pressing a kiss to his mouth.

"My children are not irrational," he argued kissing her as she slid off of his body and snuggling into his side.

"Go to sleep, Aaron. You daughter will be irrational again tomorrow, and I definitely need all of my mental capacity to deal with it."

"My children are not irrational."

"Sleep, Aaron."


	25. Chapter 25

Callum Laken grinned as he stepped into the late April sunshine, his eyes immediately lighting on Kate Hotchner. The slim brunette had caught his eye the first day he'd met her, their first day of rehearsal for the school's production of West Side Story. Following, he'd done some quiet asking around about her, discovering that she was the little musical star with a big heart. Sometimes he wondered if the world wasn't just a handful of clichés instead of anything particularly unpredictable.

Though, even he had to admit there were huge parts of Kate's life that seemed unpredictable. He'd met her best friend after rehearsal one day and he knew he'd looked surprised. Both Kate and the very blond-haired blue-eyed Calleigh Reid just laughed it off, used to odd looks as to their friendship.

"Yeah, my best friend's the school's biggest brainiac. I adore her," Kate said with a laugh.

Calleigh shot her best friend a look. "And my best friend is the school's little starlet, what can I do?"

It was obvious, even to Callum, that their friendship ran deep, something cultivated over almost too many years as friends. He respected that, and respected both girls even more when he overheard Kate telling their musical directors that she was going to have to miss a rehearsal one Thursday night because her best friend was competing in a Reach for the Top tournament. The director didn't even blink, just waved her off.

Now, she was sitting comfortably under a tree enjoying the sunshine and warm weather that had been missing from Washington for the previous five months. Her head was tilted up to the sky, eyes closed and he was stuck. He knew he'd pretty much fallen for her, an inevitability with all of the time they spent together added to her adorably sweet demeanour. So he wove around other groups of students out to enjoy the uncharacteristically nice weather until he stood over her, blocking out her sun.

"Hey," he greeted, flashing her his most brilliant smile.

She laughed. "You know your charm has absolutely no effect on me."

He grinned as he took a seat. That was something he'd learned in the first week of meeting her. Kate was immune to any sort of flattery or charm. It was one of the other things that had endeared her to him. Something in her life kept her down to earth and didn't let her build that diva personality that 'career' performers often had. "I thought I'd give it a try anyway. Missed you in Politics this morning."

She sighed. "Unfortunate side effect of stressed parents because your brother has the flu. Mom said she could teach me anything I missed."

That was how he'd gathered his information about Kate. She said little things like that in passing, little things he filed away for safe keeping. He knew she and Calleigh had been friends since birth because their mothers were long standing friends. He knew her mother spoke multiple languages such that Kate had taken to swearing in said foreign languages. He knew she'd been dancing and singing since she was four and she'd let slip that her parents probably had tapes of her childhood performances somewhere. Still, she was extremely tight lipped about her family. And she and Calleigh not only talked too fast for him to absorb everything sometimes, but they also threw out too many names for him to remember. Apparently, Kate had a huge family.

"The flu is never fun," he said eventually.

"Doesn't help my brother's a suck."

She said it with such affection that Callum was under no false pretences of how much she adored her brother. "That's not a nice thing to say about family."

She laughed. "I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true," she replied.

Callum's stomach flipped at her bright grin. "Well here," he said, handing over the notebook he usually used for Politics. "Take my notes, look 'em over."

"Thanks," she said partially in surprise. And that was another thing he liked about Kate. She never expected things from anyone else. She did everything as close to by herself as she could, and he knew she was usually reluctant to ask anyone for help. Well, except her family.

"How long has your brother been sick?"

"Couple of days," she replied. "Today was a bad day."

"Bad day?" he asked, reaching over and filching a piece of celery from the container on her other side.

Kate sent him a mock glare. "Yeah. He had a bad night, so Mom and Dad didn't set their alarms. I guess I forgot to set mine and well, my brother doesn't need to set his because it's not like he's coming to school..."

"Ah," Callum said around the celery. "I understand."

"Yeah," she breathed out on a sigh.

He'd just opened his mouth to ask about it when her cell phone rang. He felt a pang of jealousy at the gentle smile that blossomed across her face when she recognized the name on the ID.

"Hey."

Callum strained his ears for the other side of the conversation, but couldn't hear a bloody thing.

"Yeah, Seth, I've got it, stop worrying." There was a pause. "Yeah, I can do that, no worries." Pause. "No, I have rehearsal and Cal's got some lab to finish so I probably won't be around until dinner. Yeah, well that's what happens when I rule the world, hon."

He felt the jealousy spike again at the affectionate way she talked to whoever was on the other end of the line. Then she laughed loudly.

"Yeah, I can sneak a sundae to you. Anything else while you're twisting my arm?"

Callum found himself chewing the inside of his cheek.

"Ha! Yeah right, smartass. Okay, I'll see you tonight. Love you too." She was shaking her head as she hung up.

"Boyfriend?" he asked.

She looked at him, and he was struck with the sudden feeling that she could read him better than he'd like. She grinned. "Nah. Seth's my brother. No reason to be jealous."

"I'm not jealous," he contradicted.

"Okay," she answered in a sing-song voice. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Hey Kate!"

He looked up with her to see the flashing eyes of Susan Cortese, the girl he knew was the bane of Kate's existence.

"You might want to fire your vocal coach. She's useless if she can't even help you carry a tune. Oh, and hire a dance tutor or something. I know babies who dance better than you."

Callum's eyes went to Kate as Susan walked away, cackling with laughter. The brunette was biting her bottom lip.

"Hey," he said, his hand automatically coming up to squeeze hers. He wanted to take the hurt our of her eyes more than anything in the world, a thought that had startled him almost two months before, the first time those protective instincts had reared their ugly heads. "She's wrong. You're doing fantastic."

Kate blew out a sigh. "I know," she said, sparing him a small smile.

That was another thing that had struck him about her. She had everything going for her, a slim curvy build, dark hair, expressive dark eyes, classic beauty and elegance and yet, she was one of the most insecure people he'd ever met. It wasn't like she asked for constant reassurance, but when people criticized her abilities at the things she loved or the things she was supposed to be good at, it hurt more than she'd probably like to let on.

"Anyway, I've had worse."

He arched an eyebrow. "Worse?"

She laughed slightly, slipping her hand out from under his to twist it in with her other one in her lap. "Yeah, worse. My parents reluctantly dance in a few political circles. I've dealt with a few judgmental divas in my time. And anyway, she's saying that because she wants to play Maria and hopes I get into a car accident a week before I'm supposed to go on stage for opening night."

The hurt was still there, but she was protecting herself, he could see it in every line of her body. She had a poker face to rival any professional actor, but when it came to body language, Kate Hotchner was an open book. Names actually hurt, more than the childhood rhyme let on.

"They couldn't have picked a better Maria," he told her. "She's just jealous."

"I know," Kate sighed. "But I've worked my butt off for four years to get this part. And she thinks because I've taken vocal and dance lessons and she hadn't I'm not worth it and I don't have raw talent."

Callum snorted. "First of all, I'm living proof that they didn't just pick based on favourites. Second of all, just because your 'raw talent' had to be harnessed doesn't make you any less of a performer than she is. I'd say you're a classier performer than she is because you don't need to put others down to make yourself feel better."

She looked away. "Yeah."

He sighed inaudibly. All he wanted to do was make this better, but he had a feeling this was something that he just couldn't fix. Which didn't sit right with him at all. Kate had gotten under his skin from the day he'd met her and he'd been contemplating asking her out for ages. He just thought she deserved better and more than he could give her. The fact that they only really spent time alone together going over lines didn't help his self-esteem much.

But he could still dream.

Kate sighed as she hoisted her backpack over her shoulder at the end of rehearsal. She was done and she felt utterly exhausted yet she knew she had to call her father to come get her. Her parents weren't comfortable with her taking the bus by herself after dark. She glanced up as Callum fell into step beside her. Her gut twisted. She liked Callum, had confided such a thing to Calleigh just after the Christmas break, but was way too terrified to even make a move. And since he hadn't made the first move either, she figured he was comfortable with the little dance they were doing.

"So I hear through the grapevine that the lady is in need of a gallant knight to deposit her at her doorstep," he said, leaning into her ear.

Kate pinched the back of her thigh to keep herself from shivering even as she laughed. "Well, the gallant knight's steed would do, but I'm just going to call my dad to come get me."

"I'll drive you."

He'd already grasped her elbow and was steering her towards the doors to the parking lot. Kate was too tired to really put up too much of a fight and this way her father didn't have to leave the still-sick Seth. Sometimes she wondered if Seth's sucky nature while sick came from the way their parents hovered. Though, she was the same so she probably shouldn't be throwing stones. "So long as you promise you're not abducting me to take me to your dark torture chamber of a basement to rape me, torture me and eventually kill me."

Callum stopped dead shooting her a confused and definitely shocked glance. "Where did that come from?"

"Parents. Both FBI," Kate replied with a tired smile. "My mom even got abducted once. I was on the phone at the time."

She saw Callum shake his head. "You never cease to surprise me."

"Good," she replied as they started moving again. "Someone's got to keep you on your toes."

"FBI, you say," he asked.

She nodded. "We don't talk about it, but that's where they met."

"So um... they carry guns?"

Kate nodded. "Whole family does, minus Aunt Pen. Aunt Jenny's the best shot, I think. Unless Mom passed her this year. Dad sulks about it. Why? Thinking of asking me out?" Good Lord, she really was exhausted if things like that were just falling out of her mouth.

"Actually, yes," he replied and Kate's heart started beating double time. "Will your parents shoot me?"

"Are you a psychotic murderer?"

"No."

"A serial arsonist?"

"Another no."

"Pedophile?"

"No."

"Then I doubt it," she said. "And if Daddy wants to shoot you, Mom will make sure he doesn't."

They spit as they reached his car and Kate managed to slide in despite the pounding of her heart and her now-shaking hands. Were they actually talking about him asking her out? Was he being serious? She had no idea whether he was actually going to ask her out of if this was a completely hypothetical conversation. The radio took over while she directed him to her home. She stayed sitting when he pulled the car into her drive way, finally turning to him and biting her bottom lip.

"Were you being serious?" she asked. "About asking me out?"

She saw his grip on the steering wheel tighten. "Do you want it to be serious?"

"I wouldn't be against the idea of dating you," Kate replied evasively.

Callum nodded. "I really like the idea."

"Then ask me."

His warm hazel eyes met hers, the same hazel eyes that had struck her right off the bat. "Go out with me."

"When?" she immediately shot back.

"Saturday," he replied. "Afternoon."

"Okay." She felt a massive grin spreading across her face.

"Okay," Callum agreed. He grinned back. "We'll iron things out over the week?"

She nodded as she got out of the car. "Thank you. For the ride home."

"Sure."

She almost skipped around the front of the car then paused, a decision flashing through her head quickly. She allowed her bag to drop to the driveway as she made her way to his door. He rolled down the window.

"Something wrong?"

"No," she replied cheerfully and leaned down, taking his face between her hands. She'd been thinking about kissing him since coming across the scene in her script almost four months ago and they had yet to play that scene through in its entirety. She moved slow, giving him enough time to stop her, to propose that this be the way they end their first date instead, but he never stopped her, just slipped his hand to her neck as her mouth met his. She kept the kiss relatively short but sweet.

"I'm starting to wonder why I waited so long to ask you out," he said, his eyes floating open again

"You know," she replied. "I'm wondering the exact same thing. I'll see you tomorrow Callum."

And with that, she scooped her bag back up and made her way up to the front door. She couldn't wait.


	26. Chapter 26

"Damien Nicolao."

Damien looked up from where he sat with his baseball buddies at the slim form of the girl that had called his name. The boys around him wolf whistled, and Damien felt his smirk grow. "Kate Hotchner."

A smirk played at the corner of Kate's mouth. A game was a foot, a game that they'd played since they were children. It was no secret that they hated each other, which made him all the more intrigued to see what this was all about.

"A word?" she asked.

Damien moved immediately falling into step beside her. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Calleigh Reid," Kate replied swiftly, apparently not wanting to beat around the issue.

Ah. So she'd heard. Well, of course she'd heard. The oddity that was the friendship between science geek Calleigh Reid and musical starlet Kate Hotchner was no secret around the school. "What about her?"

Kate turned to him, arms folded across her chest. "Whatever you and your little cronies are planning, it ends here."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Damien replied, face a mask of innocence.

Kate made an unhappy and disbelieving sound. "Try again, Nicolao. I have ears everywhere, so you know exactly what I'm talking about. Your little bet."

Sometime, Damien swore, he was going to teach his teammates the meaning of discretion. That bed was supposed to be kept quiet specifically for this reason. Everyone knew the best friends were also each other's greatest defenders. He vaguely recalled a fifth grader who tried to bully Kate in third grade suddenly developing chemical burns and holes in his backpack. There was also the kid who reduced Calleigh to tears. Damien had never heard what words were exchanged, but a conversation with Kate put that kid in their place.

The bet was, for one thing, ridiculously high school. And admittedly, embarrassing. He probably should have known better than to anger Kate. Well, he probably should have known better than to agree to the bet and thus, asking Calleigh Reid to the school's Spring Fling – how cliché could the school get – with the intention of never actually meeting up with her. Though, in Damien hadn't known Calleigh would actually agree to the whole thing.

Now, he had a choice. "What's your point, Hotchner?" It was much safer than denial.

"My point is this," Kate began. "While I'm unsurprised that you had the utter... stupidity to go through asking her out, what baffles me is that you picked her based solely on the fact that she can spell words you can barely pronounce."

Damien rolled his eyes. "Right."

An elegant eyebrow arched. "Did you know Calleigh played soccer?"

Damien flat out laughed. "We're talking about the same girl, right?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "Exactly my point. Everyone gets too wrapped up in Calleigh's IQ to realize that she has a life outside of schoolwork."

"This is Calleigh Reid we're talking about. The girl with the highest average in the eastern seaboard."

Kate chewed her lip for a minute. "Not quite. But that's not the point here."

"What is the point then?"

"The point is that if you think I'm going to stand by and watch her get humiliated in front of a class of her peers, you should probably get your head checked. Well, other than because you just need to get your head checked."

"Am I supposed to be afraid of that?" Damien scoffed.

Kate's lips twisted. "I'm just warming up. Let's start with her parents shall we?"

"I'm supposed to be afraid of her parents? You know I have broken a few hearts in my day," Damien replied.

"Right, because sleeping with them and leaving them behind is really considered breaking a few hearts," Kate said with a roll of her eyes. "And I was more talking about their influence in the FBI."

Damien arched an eyebrow. "FBI."

"Yeah. You know, Federal Bureau of Investigation? Both of her parents work there."

"As what? Secretaries? Forensic scientists?" If she was trying to intimidate him, she was doing an absolutely terrible job.

"Special agents, actually. Both of them," Kate replied with a small satisfied smile. She then took a small step closer, lowering her voice. "Her mother is the best shot in the Bureau and has absolutely no qualms about putting a bullet into the heads of those she loves. And I'm not making up stories. She shot a man in the head for my Aunt Penelope."

He had to admit, that was pretty good. "Empty threat," he accused.

Kate shrugged. "Her aunt and uncle could bring the entirety of the FBI down on your head, if they so desired."

Damien found himself swallowing. "Empty threat," he repeated.

Now Kate's eyes glittered. "Calleigh's mom's best friend is a technical analyst for the government because they'd rather have her on their side than against them. Would you like me to detail the havoc she could wreak on you because you humiliated her niece?"

The evil sparkle in her eye told him everything he needed to know. "I think I get it."

Her smile turned triumphant. "I figured you'd see my way of thinking. It's nice to know you'd prefer to live in America than have to move because you've been listed as a sex offender in all fifty states." She started away, then seemed to think better of it and turned back. "I'm not kidding, Nicolao. You either tell her what's going on or you go to the Spring Fling with Cal. Either of those choices is endlessly better than what Aunt Jen's technical analyst could do."

Calleigh Reid looked up as Kate came skipping down the hallway. "What did you do?"

"What do you mean, what did I do?" Kate asked, sliding down the locker between Calleigh and her boyfriend Callum.

"You look much too happy to have just 'done nothing'. I know you Katherine Marie. What have you done?"

Kate exchanged a look with Callum. He'd actually been the one to tell her about the deal and about Calleigh's involvement in it all. "Nothing you'd disapprove of. I was just... Defending my own."

Calleigh snorted in amusement. "The last time you said that nobody talked to me for two weeks."

"Not true," Kate argued feebly, unwilling to give anything else away. What Calleigh didn't know, couldn't hurt her. And her family always asked her to look out for Calleigh. She was absent-minded on a good day, usually so wrapped up in something that little mundane things often slipped her mind. "And what does it matter? They bullies never bothered us."

"Which proves my point. Who did you threaten?" Calleigh asked.

"Is it too much to ask for a little trust?" Kate replied, snuggling into Callum's side. She smiled when he kissed her head.

Calleigh rolled her eyes, but smiled. Kate knew her best friend was glad Callum was around if only because it irritated Kate to no end when they ganged up on her. "You know I trust you with everything in me and I always have, that doesn't mean it always works in my favour when you, as you so charmingly put it 'defend your own'."

Kate's smile was affectionately evil. "Trust me, Cal. This time, it could only work out in your favour."


	27. Chapter 27

Jack had been the tender age of seven when he'd first met his Uncle Derek and Aunt Penelope's new baby girl. His father had pointed out the tiny pink bundle in a Washington hospital nursery and told him that he was responsible for her protection when her father and his father couldn't be there. So from seven years old Jack Hotchner had protected Gabriella Garcia-Morgan. He'd been there while she cried about breaking his mother's favourite troll figurine she'd taken to school for show and tell at age eight. He'd celebrated the perfect she'd gotten on her first math test in senior kindergarten. He'd shared banana splits with her on the days she decided the male species could curl up and die and he'd been the first one to hear about her acceptance to MIT. Jack would do anything for Gabi, and he had for years.

So there was absolutely nothing strange about the two of them wandering down the Mall on a cool April day, both of them munching on their own snacks. Gabi had just finished her third year at MIT and it was the first time they'd had the chance to hang out in months.

"It's so good to be back to the 'normalcy' of my life," Gabi said happily, licking at her popsicle. "If I hear one more thing about processors, ISPs or wormholes, I might shoot someone."

Jack shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder about your and your techie-ness."

Gabi laughed and linked her arm with his, pulling him against her side. "See, but that's one of the things I love about you. You put up with my techie-ness, as you so eloquently put it. I mean, even at home Mama talks about the work she's doing with the Bureau and about hacking... I can't get away from it!"

"Is that what you're thinking of doing?" Jack inquired, wrapping his arm around her shoulders instead. Gabi had one year of school left, and while he'd been out in the work force for almost three years, he still remembered how daunting the end of college had been.

"Don't know," Gabi replied with a shrug and a grin. "Could be fun."

Jack pursed his lips. He lived for moments like these with her where nothing else really existed in the world. It had become more and more of a thrill to hang out with her, just the two of them, and while he knew why, he wasn't anywhere close to ready to admit that he had a crush on his sister's best friend.

"But I do have other offers."

That caught his attention, and fast. "Other offers? Like what? Homeland Security?"

"Maybe."

He narrowed his eyes. "CIA."

"Maybe."

"NSA."

She gave him a noncommittal shrug which, to most others would signal a wordless answer identical to the others, but Jack knew better.

"Seriously? NSA?"

"I can't tell you that," she said cheekily, throwing out the remainder of her popsicle. "Or I'd have to kill you."

He snorted in amusement. "You couldn't kill me."

"You don't think I could? Even to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans?" she asked arching a delicate eyebrow.

He flicked a finger playfully over her nose. "I don't think you could do it if your life depended on it," he replied with a grin.

"John Bradshaw Hotchner, did you just flick my nose?"

"Did you just use my full name."

Gabi planted her hands on her hips and turned up her nose. "I did. For flicking my nose."

"My mother is the only person who uses my first name."

"Awe," Gabi said with a little bit of a chuckle. "Poor little Mommy's boy."

"Oh, no way!"

Gabi took off laughing, racing away as fast as her rather athletic legs could carry. Jack raced after her, trying to anticipate her next movement until he finally caught her around the waist, pulling her with him to the ground. He rolled them until she was pinned beneath him, his weight keeping her from even squirming. "Say you're sorry."

"No," she refused, trying to wiggle against him.

He dropped his weight further on her, ignoring the way her hips fit against hers. "Apologize."

"Not going to happen, Hotchner."

So he let go of the hold he had on her wrists, and dug his fingers into her sides, well aware of every single ticklish spot on her body. She laughed hard, squirming and trying to push at his biceps to keep him from tickling her, from invoking such raging laughter from her diaphragm.

"Stop! Jack stop it! Stop!.

Jack was laughing with her, his legs still on either side of her hips to keep her within tickling distance. Eventually, he stopped tickling her, and their laughter died down. He could feel her, hyper awareness in her gaze.

"Go to dinner with me," he blurted.

Gabi blinked beneath him. "We always have dinner together."

Jack blew out a breath and rolled away, dropping his head to his hands. "That's not what I meant."

"That's not what-" She paused. "Wait a second, you're... You're asking me on a date?"

He stayed quiet.

"No way. Jack, no way."

He sighed, pushing himself up in annoyance. "Just a simple 'no' would have sufficed."

"No, no, no. Oh my gosh, not what I meant," Gabi said, rocketing upwards.

He had to catch her because the blood rush made her dizzy. She always forgot that. "If you're about to tell me you meant to let me down gentler than that, save it."

"Jack, come on. Don't be mad."

"Don't be mad? Are you kidding me?" He crossed his arms over his chest.

She sighed. "This is totally not the way I pictured this going."

"Not the way you pictured what? You've thought about this?"

"Only for the last... oh... four years or so," she replied. "Goodness, Jack, I wasn't blind. I have dreamed of this moment for years."

"You've been dreaming of this?" Dreaming wasn't something one usually associated with rejecting someone.

"I thought it was so incredibly obvious for a while there. But then you didn't say anything and I wasn't going to say anything..." She shrugged.

He ran a hand over his face. "I'm an idiot."

"I'm not much better. It's not like I'm some damsel that needs saving. I could have made the first move."

"So we've been dancing around each other for years?" Jack asked.

Gabi shrugged again. "Well, I don't exactly blame you. There's the age difference, there's the fact that you're the brother of my best friend and if this falls apart in any sort of ugly way it could tear apart our families... It's not a big deal."

Jack blinked before bursting into laughter. Only Gabi could come up with all of that then spout it in one breath. "Excellent."

"So... um..."

"Saturday? I'll pick you up at... 6:30?"

Her grin was huge and bright. "Sounds excellent."

He mirrored her grin and held out his hand. "Can I walk you back to the Metro, beautiful lady?"

Gabi actually blushed and giggle. "Why of course, good sir."

Jack's stomach was doing flip flops. She'd actually said 'yes'. He hadn't meant to let it slip, knew that if anything terrible happened between them it really did have the potential of ripping apart their families, but really, she'd said 'yes'! Saturday couldn't come fast enough.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alarimercer asked  
> I sent a prompt about maybe a older son for Emily and Hotch meeting him, did you get it?

There are many reasons to be proud of a kid.

Their first word, their first steps, their first solid food, the first tooth they lose, the first day of school… The list is long and rather exhaustive. But Emily thinks that in the last eighteen years she has never been more proud of her son than she is at this moment. 

"Seth Hotchner."

Her cheeks hurt as she watches her little boy cross the stage.

(“I’m not that little anymore, Mom, God. Are you going to follow me to college and cut the crusts off my sandwiches too?” he’d scolded her as she’d tried to tame his cowlick. Thankfully, her glare has not lost its effectiveness over the years and he had offered her a sheepish smile and a kiss to her cheek as an apology.) 

He shakes the principal’s hand, then pauses for pictures. From beside her, Kate lets out a whistle that sounds like a catcall and Emily watches Seth’s face go pink. The rest of the ceremony is relatively boring, as high school graduations often are, but after, she wades through the robes until she finds him. 

"Look at you! Oh my God, I’m so proud."

"Mom," he whines, even as he catches her weight. She’s got her arms around his neck and she can feel the tears welling up in her eyes. "Come on."

She feels Kate tug her back and wraps an arm around her daughter instead. “It’s a big day!”

"Because your last born is finally leaving the nest?" Kate teases. "We’re all grown up, Mom." 

"Don’t start with me, young lady," Emily warns, though it’s rendered relatively ineffective by the sniffle she follows it with. 

Emily doesn’t care. Well, she cares that she’s an empty nester in a lot of ways, but her son, going off to college, doing adult things, with adult responsibilities… As much as she misses her chubby baby boy, she knows that she and Aaron have raised the best man they could. 

"What did I miss?"

And there’s the man himself, responsible for half of their newest graduate’s genetics. She wraps her other arm around him and he nods sagely. 

"And if you look to your left, you will see the domesticated mother as she says goodbye to her last child, about to go away for what the humans call ‘college’."

Emily reaches out and smacks at Seth, but he dodges with a laugh. “Just you wait until you’re in my shoes. You’ll be singing a different tune then, mister.”

The next second, Seth’s reached out for his mother and pulled her in tight and close. Emily hugs him back, her little boy, her last kid. 

"I love you, Mom."

"Love you too," she answers. "Even when you’re a brat."


End file.
